Crazy Is The New Sane
by White Firebird
Summary: He wasn't your typical hero, he readily admitted that. But after seeing her get hurt the way she did for long enough, maybe he needed to become the one thing she desperately needed...a hero.
1. all those moments

**Since I started writing my first story about #AJPunk, I've been bouncing ideas around in my head and on paper about another story that I could do revolving around them. And finally the idea came to me. So here's my newest story about everyone's favorite almost-would-be-should-be couple in the WWE. It's completely different from my first story, so I hope y'all like it. Here it is.**

**Everything except this story is owned by the WWE. If it wasn't, well, we all know AJ & Punk would have gotten together by now. Duhhh.**

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**No Way Out - June 17th, 2012**

She couldn't see straight. There was a stabbing pain in her neck that made it hard for her to turn her head, and the dull throbbing she felt in her head was making her feel woozy. She was surrounded by darkness, so where she could be, she had no idea. Knowing who had carried her to the back, he had probably taken her to the boiler room or some other place within the depths of the arena. His music was still playing, reverberating throughout the walls of the arena, so that meant he must've not made it backstage yet. _Good._ She didn't want to see him, because he probably had questions, many of them, and she wasn't in any mood to give him answers.

Suddenly, a light was flicked on from somewhere and she immediately shielded her eyes, the throbbing in her skull becoming exacerbated because of it. Rubbing her eyes, she slowly looked around and saw that she was in the trainer's office. She surpressed a snort, closing her eyes as she laid back in her seat and slid down a little. She hadn't expected him to take her here; she didn't think he had much of a heart at all, but she was disproving _that_ theory day by day. A small smile then graced her pink lips as she thought about it; here she was, bringing a monster to his knees, all because of one simple little kiss. Here she was, causing her ex-boyfriend all sorts of hell because of the shit he had done to her and put her through. And here she was, sending all sorts of signals to the man who found himself in the middle of it all. Was she with him or against him? It was for her to know and him to find out...if she wanted him to.

She tensed up for a moment when she heard the door open, thinking he had come back for her, but instead it was a trainer coming to check on her injuries. She heard his words, but she wasn't really paying attention; everything felt like white noise at the moment. What did get her ears to perk up, however, was the sound of his music stopping, and suddenly she felt the urge to get as far away from the arena as possible. She tried shooing the trainer off, but he insisted on running a concussion test on her to see if she had possibly suffered one with the tumble she took. Resigned to the fact that she was stuck there for the moment, she sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a huff, crossing her slender arms across her chest as the trainer went to work. After a few minutes of basic tests, he deemed her concussion free and good to go, but only if she promised that she'd try to take it easy from here on out. She nodded her head and in short form, stood up and quickly exited the office, taking a moment to slowly crane her neck to the left and right, making sure that there was no sign of him (or any of them, for that matter) anywhere. When the coast was clear, she walked a little quicker than usual to her dressing room. She didn't make it very far when the monster himself emerged from behind a series of crates, stepping in front of her and stopping her dead in her tracks.

Her eyes glanced his hulking frame up and down as she watched him adjust his black leather glove, his greasy, stringy hair hanging in front of his masked face. His breathing was heavy, and he literally towered over her small frame. The throbbing in her head was replaced by the sound of her heart beating against her chest like a drum line. Just because she had been shown a different side of him as of late didn't change the fact that he was still a monster who could snap at the tiniest of things. He didn't say a word as he stood over her, and she couldn't even tell if he was looking at her or not. Flipping his hair back to reveal the red mask that covered his face, he had a look of...was that _concern?_ She couldn't really tell, the mask predictably hid most everything except for his eyes and mouth. But his lips were twitching, and he raised his gloved hand near her shoulder, almost like he wanted to touch her to see if she'd hold or break. Everything about this whole thing made her feel incredibly uneasy; what if he just upped and took her somewhere? She'd be powerless to stop him...and she hated feeling that way.

He licked his lips and opened his mouth to speak, but he quickly shut it and continued glancing down at her, a cocktail of mixed emotions playing across what little facial features he had thanks to his mask. The little imaginary angel on her right shoulder told her that she should try to make a run for it, but simply put, fear was what had her rooted to her spot. He was still a monster and he wasn't one to be messed around with, she knew this. There was a time and place to push buttons, and she had been doing that, but right now wasn't one of those times. She gulped as his hand raised again and found it's way to her tiny shoulder; she was afraid that he might squeeze it and leave a big bruise, or worse, dislocate or break it. That's what he was capable of.

"Are you...are you ok?", he asked, breaking the tense silence with his low, gruff whisper. She slowly nodded her head, her throat tightening up as she slowly craned her neck up to face him. Words were escaping her at the worst possible time. She felt his hand slowly rub her shoulder, and though it should have put her somewhat at ease, it did nothing to get rid of the nervous, almost nausious feeling that was residing in the pit of her stomach. Instead of saying something else to her, he nodded and removed his hand from her shoulder, lowering his head, turning on his heel and walking away from her while she remained frozen in place. She waited until he was completely out of sight to make her move, moving down the hall at an even quicker pace than before, lest she run into one of the other two men she encountered earlier in the night. Which she wanted absolutely **no** part of.

A few seconds later, she reached her dressing room and haphazardly began to throw her things together, raging neck pain and massive headache be damned. After everything was shoved into her bag, she turned the lights off and began to lightly jog down the hall toward the very back of the arena to the talent parking lot. It was then, when she got there and felt the pavement beneath her high tops, that she cursed herself; she had gotten a ride from her friend and she had to leave the arena early due to an emergency. She gingerly raised her head to look at the darkened skies, a deep sigh escaping her lips as she decided to trudge forward on foot; the hotel couldn't have been more than a mile or two away from the arena, and this was still New Jersey, so she knew the surrounding area fairly well. It was then that the skies decided to open up on her. At first, she felt a few drops hit her on the top of her head and she thought nothing of it. No sooner had she exited the parking lot and began walking down the deserted streets in what she hoped was the right direction toward what she hoped was the hotel everyone was staying at, though, did the rain start to kick in more.

She stopped for a brief second to glance upwards, quickly closing her eyes as a drop of rainwater splashed on her cheek. This was just her luck. She continued with her walk for a few more minutes, at which point, the rain grew heavier, and she sped her walk into a jog, and then from a jog to a run. She'd be lucky if she made it to the hotel and she wasn't completely drenched over every inch of her body from head to toe. Eventually, she found herself at a bus stop to catch her breath when a rather large, black and grey bus stopped there as well. Her breathing stopped for a second; she knew that bus anywhere. Dread began to slowly fill up within her as she watched the door swing open, waiting for him to appear before her. But the dread was surpressed and replaced by mild relief when she saw that his 'road wife', as he affectionately and jokingly called him, was the one that appeared before her, puzzlement on his face as he looked at her.

"What are you doing walking alone in the rain this late?", he asked, concern being hinted at in his question. She didn't respond back; she didn't want to deal with anything having to do with him, but on the other hand, the man before her had been nothing but a sweetheart to her ever since they became friends a while back. But the thought of him being on the bus still lingered in the back of her mind, and all she merely did was shake her head and shrug her shoulders, before attempting to continue on her walk. She'd made it this far on her own, she wanted to finish the trip and feel a sense of accomplishment, no matter how small it may be, for the first time in a while. But the dark skinned, dreadlocked man wasn't having any of that.

"Come on girl, don't play that game with me. Get in here, the hotel's not for another mile and a half", he said, stepping off the bus and moving toward her with hands extended. She instinctively backed up and shook her head; she wasn't going anywhere near that bus, because she knew he was in there, probably stewing, probably wondering what the hell happened earlier in the night during his title match. She just wasn't getting on that bus, no way, no how. It_ just wasn't happening_. But the man in front of her seemingly picked up on her reluctance, sensing there might be a motive as to why she was so content with walking through the rain this late at night. It then hit him like a sack of bricks. "He's not on the bus, if that's what you're wondering. He caught a ride with someone else, so it's just me. Now come on, let's get you inside before you get sick or anymore drenched."

All she could do was sigh and nod her head slowly as she trudged onto the large bus, resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to win this little battle. She got on and plopped down on the couch to her left, while Kofi closed the doors and got behind the wheel. She took a moment to look around, and sure enough, he was nowhere to be found, just like her friend had just said. As the bus kicked into gear, she leaned back into her seat and carefully rested her neck on the back, finding herself staring at the ceiling, taking in the silence. She caught him glancing over his shoulder at her a few times, obviously wanting to say something to her, but thinking better of it every time. So there they sat, riding together in silence through the rain soaked streets of New Jersey.

"Are you alright?", he asked her as the bus came to a stop at a red light.

The suddeness of his question caught her a bit off guard, she wasn't expecting him to say anything to her, let alone ask her the same damn question that she had been getting from everyone everywhere. She looked over at him from her seated position and glared at him; he took that as her answer and turned back around to drive. But the question began to swim around in her head; _was she?_ She couldn't give herself an answer to that, let alone anyone else. She hadn't necessarily been in her right mind ever since Daniel had told her that he wished she never existed and proceeded to rip her heart out of her chest and then shred it to pieces. How would _any_ girl feel after their first real love treated her like that? Insulted her, ridiculed her...beat her...and yet, here she was, still not completely over him. Whenever she was around him, she didn't know whether to be afraid or happy, but recently, she had been more scared to be around him. She thought he was a cruel person for all the times he treated her like utter garbage then, but now...now, something had changed in him. Like he had become even angrier and more bitter seemingly overnight, if that was even possible. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she kept muddling around in his business, maybe it was the fact that he constantly couldn't upend his old, ex-friend for the title they had fought over tonight. She didn't want to find out.

The bus came to a stop. She peered out the window and saw the hotel in front of her eyes, so she sprung to her feet and grabbed her bag, and rushed past her confused friend, giving him a short, small wave as she quickly exited the bus and made a beeline for the entrance to the hotel. She kept her head down as to avoid making eye contact with anyone as she speed walked through the lobby and walked straight into the elevator. Pushing the button of the floor that her room was on, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had made it. All she was looking forward to now was some sleep and the chance to move onto a new day tomorrow. She would only be so lucky.

When the doors slid open, she looked up and gasped, her eyes widening with absolute fear; before her stood her very agitated, very pissed off ex-boyfriend. His face, sans his bushy, almost gross-looking beard, was as red as the truns he regularly wore. His shoulders rose with each heavy breath he took, and she saw that his fists were clenched tightly at his sides. He was literally shaking with rage...which meant that whatever was about to happen wasn't going to end up well for her. He reached forward and snatched her by the wrist, gripping it tightly, a small, almost inaudible yelp escaping her lips as he dragged her out of the elevator and into the hall, slamming her up against the wall, the pain shooting through her head and neck all the way down her spine. He brought his face mere inches away from her own, she could feel his hot, disgusting breath on her face as he mashed his teeth together, boring holes through her eyes with his own vengeful ones. She was legitimately afraid of what he would do right now, the fear she had earlier when in the presence of the monster now increasing tenfold.

"Just when I thought I'd never find you", he whispered harshly at her through gnashed teeth. "You keep surprising me." His hands then found their way from her wrist to her throat, crushing it and crushing any hope of her calling out for help. He continued to glare at her with eyes that made her feel as if he was going to beat the ever loving crap out of her for what she did tonight during his title match. And they were all alone in a deserted hallway with everyone asleep...

"I may have discarded you like the worthless trash that you are, but don't think for one second that you aren't still mine. You belong to me and only me, do you get that? **DO YOU GET THAT?**", he yelled into her face. A lone, singular tear began to slide down her cheek; she'd take being alone in the boiler room with the monster over this any day. "If I catch you out there sticking your nose where it doesn't belong again, helping that scummy looking bastard retain his title and causing **ME** to lose, so help me God, I swear, I won't hesitate to punish you far worse than I have in the past. Am I clear?"

It took all the energy left in her to slowly nod her head. A sickly, satisfied looking grin spread across his lips as he slammed her head against the wall and released the iron grip he had on her throat, watching her slowly slide down the wall and onto the floor, tears streaming from her eyes as he walked away, evily chuckling to himself and leaving her a mess where she laid.

All while a bearded man with piercing green eyes watched from afar...

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**And that's that, hope you all liked it! KOD will be updated soon and reviews are greatly welcomed, lates!**


	2. no such thing as a hero

**Welp, here's chapter two! Thank you to everyone who took a chance with this story and reviewed it, followed it, and so forth. It really means a lot. Hope y'all like this. And for the love of God, I honestly hope that they don't pull the plug on AJ as the GM. That'd just be sad. Typical WWE booking if they do.**

**Don't own anything but the story, WWE owns the rest. Here we go.**

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**Morning of June 18th, 2012**

_"You think we'll make it one day?"_

_The words snapped him from his thoughts, his eyes drifting over to the man standing a few feet beside him. It wasn't unlike the two of them to bounce that question off of one another every so often, but for reasons unknown to him, this time it jarred him. One by one, he had been seeing his friends get their big time opportunity, and it had left the two of them especially hungry for that chance. He found himself wondering what the answer to that question would be more often than not._

_"I don't know. We're just a couple of indy schmucks. We don't necessarily fit the bill."_

_"So?"_

_"So, what I'm saying is, I don't think the big wigs are clamoring for scrawny vegans out of the back ass woods of Washington and foul mouthed tattooed jerks from the suburbs of Chicago."_

_The man he not-so-subtly described began to laugh, and soon enough, he too was laughing, their howls echoing throughout the tiny locker room which they found themselves changing in. A few moments later and the laughter had died down, but the grins still remained on their collective lips as they put the finishing touches on their gear; he, his wrist tape that he marked with two red x's for both hands, while his friend tied up his black and maroon shaded cape around his neck, letting it fall perfectly across his back. The two men caught each other's eye for a brief moment, and they couldn't help but chuckle at their own appearances. They would both admit that they looked like they belonged in some freaky circus side show act, not a professional wrestling ring. But they were beating those stereotypes day in and day out. Tonight wasn't any different than before._

_"So, I ask again. You think we'll make it one day?"_

_"Who knows. Maybe we will, maybe we'll be working auditoriums and rec centers for the rest of our lives. Right now though, I'm just focussed on the present, and I'll let the chips fall as they may."_

_The caped man ran a hand through his bushy beard, a grin creeping across his lips as they came to a stop at the curtain, 'Miseria Cantare - The Beginning' by AFI starting to play through the building. They bumped fists, and gave each other a hug, something they did before they went out and competed against each other._

_"We'll make it one day. And when we do, I can't wait to be looking across the ring at you, knowing that two small time indy guys made it to the big stage and fulfilled their dreams."_

His eyes snapped open and immediately swept over the room to look at the clock residing next to him; it read 3:35 AM, and he sighed. It was shaping up to be yet another sleepless night for him, not that he wasn't accustomed to it or anything, but still. While he had been known to pull more than his fair share of all nighters here and there, they had become almost a weekly occurance now, sometimes more than once a week when his mind was really plaguing him. Normally, he would just chalk it up to the wear and tear on his body and general insomnia, but now...now he spent those sleep deprived nights wondering how he found himself in a situation he absolutely wanted no part of. He wondered how everything could crumble around him like a house of cards. More, and most importantly, however, he wondered how he had lost one of his closest friends in the business and in his life in the blink of an eye.

Seeing their friendship dissolve before his very eyes the way he did made him think back to those days in Ring Of Honor and all of the various indy promotions they wrestled for before they made it to the grand theater of the WWE. Was there any signs of fracture in their friendship back then? Jealousy? Resentment? He found himself questioning and over-analyzing every little thing, and still, he came up with nothing. He ran a hand over his slicked back hair, resting it on the very back of his neck as he looked to the chair in the corner where his most prized posession was resting; the WWE Championship. His eyes narrowed as he bored holes through the tricked out (and annoyingly gaudy) title. Being the man who held the most prestigious title in all of wrestling was both a blessing and a curse, and right now, it was the latter. Now, he was smart enough to realize that the title itself wasn't the sole reason for the fissure between the two of them, but it ranked chief among them. Two reasons, though, jumped out at him like two big sore thumbs.

The first one, he knew, was pure jealousy...though why his former friend would be jealous of him was just a tad bit confusing, in all honesty. A little less than six months ago, they were standing together in the same ring as the WWE and World Heavyweight Champions, respectively. The two indy schmucks were on top of the world, and life couldn't have been any better. They were the toast of the wrestling world, and it felt oh so great. But it wasn't until a month later though, when he saw him backstage before Raw, that he didn't know who he was becoming. In place of his old friend was someone who had a permanent scowl on his face, a cold, bitter demeanor, who walked around and acted like everyone owed him something. When he had tried talking to the man named Daniel Bryan, all he got was a dismissive look, like he was a nobody to him, and seeing his behavior become as snobbish as this made him wonder just what the hell had set him off like this. From that night forward, it was almost sad to watch him act the way he did, with WrestleMania the breaking point. Nobody wanted to lose at WrestleMania...but to do so in a mere 18 seconds, and losing the World Heavyweight Championship to boot? It was depressing to watch what Daniel had become since then because of that night. To say that he had become a shell of his former self was one of the understatement's of the year.

And the second reason...well, his mind wandered back to what he had seen earlier in the night, watching from afar as Daniel abused his ex-girlfriend like it was a sick sense of enjoyment for him. It wasn't the first time he had seen Daniel abuse her; in fact, many a time over the course of the past few months, he had seen him drag her around like a rag doll, treat her like crap, scream at her for no reason at all, belittle her...he did everything short of throw the kitchen sink at the poor girl...and yet, she kept going back to him. Even after he had served her the ultimate humiliation of breaking up with her on live television and degrading her some more (the instance where he wished she had never been born was especially degrading), she kept watching over him from the shadows, almost like a beaten puppy looking to go back to it's owner again, even after being thrown on the street like yesterday's trash. He honestly felt bad for her; he had been where she was, agonizing and falling into a state of depression after breaking up with your first real love...but, unlike her, he hadn't become a clinical psychopath after the fact like she had. Every time he saw her since their little dance had started last month before Over The Limit, he didn't know if he was going to recieve a hug or get his eyes clawed out, depending on whatever mood she found herself in that day. But what he had seen earlier, in the hall...it made him think back to the first time he had seen the violent little show play out before his very eyes...

_His breathing was heavy, heart pounding against his chest as he slowly navigated his way around the halls backstage. He had just finished making Miz tap out, something that always brought a smile to his lips, clutching the title he had just sucessfully defended in his hand as he walked. Right now, though, all he was looking forward to doing was taking a shower and getting on the road to get to the next city. He felt the sweat drip down his brow as a few stage hands slapped him on the back and congratulated him on his win. Nodding his head and shooting them all a tired, weak smile, he turned the corner, and as he moved further down the hall, two voices could be made out; one sounded rough and was constantly yelling, the other barely above a whisper and sounding almost child-like. He stopped for a moment to listen, but then shook his head, thinking nothing more of it...until he heard it again a few seconds later. The further he walked, the louder the voices got, and this kept going on for a few moments before he peered out from behind a few crates and saw it; his former friend and his girlfriend. And it didn't look very good from his position._

_"What did I tell you about talking to that giant oaf!?", he yelled directly into her face, watching her flinch backwards at the sheer rage they contained. "That bastard trucked you over and you go **TALK** to him!? Do you **realize** what could have happened!? **YOU** get all chummy with him, he **USES** you to get to me, and then I lose **THIS**", he screamed, pointing to the World Heavyweight Championship that was wrapped around his waist. "And then your little 'sacrifice' here will have been for **NOTHING.**"_

_She looked like she was about to be on the verge of tears, but she blinked them back. She moved her head to the side stiffly to brush her hair away, the neck brace she was wearing limiting her mobility a bit. "Daniel...I was just...he came over to me in catering and tried to apologize-"_

_"What a load of shit", he snorted derisively. "No no no, he wants you to **think** that he's apologizing, but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference, you stupid little girl. He's just trying to use you, AJ. And I am **NOT** losing this title because of **YOUR** childish antics! Do you not realize how hard I worked to **WIN** this!?"_

_He watched silently from the shadows as she tried her best not to break down into an emotional heap, nodding her head slowly at his words."But Daniel...he-he's my...he's my friend..."_

_Her words were met with an incredibly harsh slap to the face, causing her head to snap to the side, a loud, shrill scream escaping her mouth, the stinging in her face being compounded by the searing pain in her neck that was now exacerbated greatly. His eyes widened, lips pursed tightly together and subconsciously he felt his free hand ball up into a fist, his fingers digging into his palm; if there was one thing he absolutely hated in the world, it was abuse against women. He could see the tears now streaming down her face, and his heart went out to the poor girl; nobody deserved this. Yet, for reasons he didn't know, he didn't make a move to stop it.._.

_"He is **NOT** your friend!** I** am your only friend! Not Kaitlyn, not Layla, not Kingston, not Big Show, not that pasty faced jackass Sheamus...you don't need **ANY** of them. I'm the only person you need, and if I need to slap that fact into you more, then I will. But I won't have to, will I?", he asked her, venom and hatred dripping from his words as he glared at the tiny Diva with contempt. It took all she had to muster up the strength to nod her head in compliance. He shook his head, like he was disgusted with her, before leaving her alone in the hall, muttering loudly to himself that the World Heavyweight Champion shouldn't have to deal with shit like this._

_He watched as she continued to cry, slowly falling to her knees, her head bowed while her brunette locks covered her face. He saw her body shake, and he knew that the amount of pain she was in, both physically and emotionally, must've been weighing her down like an anchor right now. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to step out from his spot in the shadows and see if she was alright. He didn't know why; every instinct in his body told him to go check on the poor girl, to see if she needed any help, anything to make her feel even a little bit better than she was right now. But there he stood, rooted to his position, as he watched her cry. Besides, what could he **really** do to comfort her? They weren't exactly friends, having met each other only a few times here and there, not really talking that much when they did cross paths. So after thinking it over for a solid minute, he decided that it'd be best if he just walked away from the situation, no matter how wrong it was and how dirty he felt inside for doing so._

_Turning on his heel, he quietly began to pad down the hall in the opposite direction, but as he moved from behind the crates, his title bumped up against it, and it slipped from his hand and fell onto the floor. Cringing and scrambling quickly to pick it up, he squatted down and then...he met eyes with her. She had a look of utter confusion on her face as she quickly wiped away any stray tears. "Wh...Punk?", she asked, the hurt still ringing through her voice along with bewilderment, almost like she couldn't believe him, of all people, was here. He nodded his head solemnly, not saying a word. "Did you...did you see all of that?", she whispered. But instead of answering her, he stood up and turned his back on her, slinging his title over his shoulder as he walked, his head hung low. He ignored her as she cried his name out in vain, turning the corner and making the long walk to his locker room. He wanted to help her, he really did. But he wasn't what she needed, nor would he never be. That role was saved for a boy scout like John, the white knight of the WWE._

_He couldn't be her hero..._

He shook his head of the memory, and glanced back over at his clock; it now read 4:50 AM, and he sighed deeply. Standing up from the bed, he threw on one of his hoodies, slipped his shoes on, grabbed his headphones and decided that going for a run would be better than trying to sleep. He got into the elevator down the hall, standing in the same spot where he saw Daniel get his claws on her again. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he tried his best to burn the imagery from his memory as he waited. Once it arrived, he stepped in and rode it down to the lobby, where, to his surprise, he ran into his friend and fellow road wife, who looked like he was dressed for the same purpose as he was.

"What're you doing up?", the dreadlocked man asked, before quickly shaking his head. "Wait, nevermind, don't answer that. You never sleep, duh." The two men walked out of the lobby and felt the cold New Jersey air hit their faces. "Silent treatment, huh? What crawled up your ass this time? Aside from the usual bags of sand and the various sticks that've been wedged up there over the years", Kofi said light heartedly, trying to liven the mood just a little. He rolled his eyes at his friend and continued to remain silent as he flipped his hood over his head and began to jog, Kofi not far behind. For a few, blissful minutes, the two men jogged in complete silence, the only sounds accompanying them being the horns of cars that zipped by on the streets. As they turned a corner and began to jog into a local park, the other half of the WWE Tag Team Champions broke the ice with a proverbial sledgehammer of a statement; "I uh, ran into AJ on the drive home from the pay per view."

That was enough to stop him dead in his tracks. He threw his hood back and removed his headphones from his ears, glaring intently at his friend, his eye twitching ever so slightly. Sensing the sudden and swift change in his friend's mood, Kofi backed up, hands raised in defense as he divulged what happened. "She was walking back to the hotel from the arena in the rain...I couldn't just let her do that, man. She was afraid to come on the bus though, she must've thought you'd be there. Didn't say a word either. I asked her if she was okay and she just glared at me. Soon as we got to the hotel, she ran out. Haven't seen or heard from her since."

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief, he muttered something incoherent under his breath. "What was that?", the dreadlocked man asked. He looked to his friend for a moment, struggling with whether or not he should talk about what he saw just a few scant hours ago. Finally, he just shrugged his shoulders and spoke up for the first time in what felt like forever.

"I saw her. She had just exited the elevator...and Bryan got a hold of her."

"And you didn't think to do anything!?", the Ghanian native exclaimed, shock written on his face at his friend's revelation. "You've seen what he's done to her in the past, you know what he's capable of! What the hell were you thinking, man!?"

He stared blankly at his close friend, his eyes and face telling the whole story. "Why should I do anything?", he asked, more so to himself though, before he turned around and began to walk back to the hotel, leaving Kofi there, his jaw hanging open, looking distraught as he watched the WWE Champion go. He kept repeating the question to himself over and over, earning himself some odd looks from passerby's. All the way up to his room, the question kept swimming through his head, until he sat down and looked at the WWE Title, still there in it's position on the chair in the corner, and came to the realization...

"I'm no hero. I can't save anyone. I can't save anyone..."

All while a brown haired, chocolate colored eyed girl overheard it from the other side of the door, a lone tear sliding from her eyelid down her bruised, blemished cheek...

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**And that's that. Hope you all enjoyed it. Kiss Of Death will be updated during the week, and this will follow shortly after that. Reviews are always welcome, and if y'all wanna talk about the events of Raw and SmackDown, then I'm open to that as well. Lates!**


	3. drowning in hell

**Here's chapter three! Thank you all for your continued support and kind words towards this story and my other story as well. I very much appreciate it all. I hope you all enjoy this newest chapter.**

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**Monday Night Raw - June 18th, 2012**

_"You'll never amount to anything."_

The words, so harshly and bitterly spoken, kept swimming around in her head, violently tossing and turning within the boundaries of her skull to the point where it was beginning to give her a migraine. It had been like this for the past couple of hours, the _words._ She found herself isolated from the rest of the crew, sitting in the corner of her dimly lit, makeshift dressing room, slowly rocking back and forth in an upright fetal position. Across from her, on the other side of the room, her eyes glanced at the small, red object on the folding chair she had placed it on. Once upon a time, she would have been ashamed to admit that she had stolen it from one of the merchandise stands, but that was then; this was now. She was all on her own, and nobody wanted to touch her with a ten foot pole nowadays.

_"I wish I had never met you!"_

They wouldn't go away. Constantly ringing and buzzing around, they just wouldn't go the hell away. From the minute she had woken up this morning to now, holding her knees up against her tiny frame, struggling to blink back tears, his venomous colloquy sliced through her senses like a knife. Her red, puffy eyes then switched from that of the object on the chair to the table nearby that housed a mirror and her belongings...the gleam of the light rebounded off of the smooth silver and into her chocolate brown eyes. She had carried it on her ever since that fateful day, when her heart was ripped out of her chest and destroyed for all to see. When her life as she knew it ceased to exist. It was almost as if she had been reborn that day, and in place of the old her, was someone who was damn near unrecognizable. She'd say that she was supposed to be scared at this transformation, but she wasn't.

_"You should have never been born."_

Gone was the joy she brought with her everywhere. Gone was the smile and electricity she brought with her into every room she stepped foot in. Gone was everything that made her who she once was, and she knew she was never getting it back. Her eyes wandered back over to the small pocket knife on the table, watching it glisten in the fading light. More than once, the thought of taking it to her wrists, legs, arms, anywhere, and just slicing away at her veins sounded _oh so_ tempting. Ending it all was an appealing thought to her; what would she be leaving behind, really? A family that broke off all contact with her months ago when she went against their wishes and continued to date the man responsible for all this? Friends who had turned their back on her after her break up, wagging their fingers and tauntingly telling her that they told her so? A profession that had ceased to be fun and instead became a daily reminder of everything that was wrong with her? What did she have to _live_ for anymore? She thought everything was slowly turning around after last night's pay per view...but once more, she was served with a cold reminder that nothing was ever going to be the same again. What would happen if she just did one little flick here, one slice there...would anyone **really **miss her?

_"You know what...I sorta dig crazy chicks."_

Her head snapped up._ 'Where did that one come from?'_, she silently wondered to herself, seeing that the room was still empty. She then heard it again, and now she found herself standing up, surveying her surroundings. She hadn't heard the door open...she turned the lights fully on and saw that yes, she was still alone. Shaking her head, she sighed and found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror, eyes occasionally drifting down to the knife just inches away from her right hand. Her fingers crawled over to it, the smooth, almost leathery handle grazing across her fingertips, before she heard his voice again, and she stopped herself short of grabbing it. Her mind wandered back to earlier in the day, his words fresh in her psyche. Why couldn't he save anyone? Why couldn't he live up to what everyone thought of him? More importantly, in her case...

Why couldn't he be her hero?

Quickly snapping herself out of her CM Punk-driven thoughts, as to not dwell on it and shed more unwanted tears, she checked the time on her phone and saw that the show was about to start. She checked herself over once more and a sinking feeling of dread (that word again) began to wallow in the pit of her stomach. Picking up the red mask, she stared into the empty, soulless holes that her eyes would be looking out from in a short amount of time. She knew she was playing with fire again, and she knew that it could end up backfiring on her in the worst of ways. She knew that, eventually, if she kept playing these games that she played, he'd eventually grow frustrated with her, chase after her, and demand answers for what she was doing. But she wasn't ready to give them to him. Maybe she wasn't ready to give them to him at all. _Maybe..._

A knock on her door jarred her from her thoughts;_ 'Who could that be?'_, she asked herself mentally as she put the knife in her back pocket, slowly making her way to the door. She thought she made sure that nobody knew where she'd be hiding...maybe she got sloppy. For all she knew it could be Daniel, he had a disturbing and creepy way of always knowing where she was at all times...she shuddered at that thought, a cold feeling enveloping her body, the bruise on her cheek and the pain in her neck a constant reminder of the damage he was capable of doling out. Taking a deep breath to keep her nerves in check, she twisted the knob of the door to find...

Nothing. Nobody. Just the hallway as it was when she arrived; empty. She could have swore she heard a knock...she was hearing things. Which wasn't necessarily new to her, but still. Shaking her head, she closed the door behind her, but no sooner than she had done that, there was another knock. Spinning around quickly, she reached for the handle and flung it open, again finding nobody there. Growing more agitated, she grabbed the mask and spent a few seconds gazing at it as she held it in her tiny palms. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she proceeded to slide the mask on, making sure that her hair didn't get tangled up in a mess. She thought about seeing what she looked like in the mirror, but she didn't dare do it. She didn't want to see the newest part of the transformation she had undergone. It'd only further drive home the point that she wasn't who she once was anymore. It was all a façade, an act. When she smiled, it was through gritted, broken down teeth. The only real, pure joy she got out of anything anymore was skipping. It reminded her of a time when things...weren't so bad. But that was a long, long time ago for her.

Stepping out into the hall, she looked around to make sure that nobody was around, lest anyone found her little hideout. Brushing some of her hair to the side, hand gliding against the leathery mask, she did her best to steady her breathing, the feeling of her heart beating against her chest like a conga line doing her no favors as she prepared herself for this moment. She then put on the best fake smile she could muster up, skipping down the abandoned halls toward the curtain, where she would lie in wait for the chance to do what she was best known for nowadays; disrupt the natural order of things.

Depressed green eyes watching as she skipped away...

* * *

She could still hear her music blaring as she made her way backstage, going from skipping to full out running as she wanted to avoid the questioning and curious looks that everyone was sure to have on their faces had they seen her. Unlike last night, with her altercation, dress down and new bruise courtesy of Daniel fresh in her mind and still bleeding like an open wound, she was going to go out of her way to make sure nothing happened tonight. She didn't know if she could handle it. Scratch that. She **knew** she couldn't. She just didn't want to go through the trauma again. All that violence and abuse and no one there to stop it...

_"It's a shame that they, lost their head..."_

Perking up at the sound of her one-time friend's theme song blasting throughout the arena, a small smile graced her lips, no matter how forced it was; she had done her part, and Daniel had lost. Her only regret about skipping out there and distracting the monster was that she didn't stop at all to see Daniel get his face both kneed and kicked in. Again. The Irishman's theme still playing, she caught her breath and emerged from behind the shadowy corner she had taken temporary refuge in, slowly making her way back to her hideout. A few minutes later and there she was, twisting the knob open and stepping inside, finding it to be the same way she had left it, with the dimly lit lightbulb the only source of light in the otherwise darkened room, swinging back and forth as the arena rocked.

Stepping in front of the mirror, she kept her head low, still not wanting to see what she looked like with the mask on. _'Maybe I should just keep it on',_ she thought to herself. _'That way I can fully embrace the mess that I've become.'_ Suddenly, she began to laugh for reasons unknown to her. She just started, and it slowly crescendoed into a crazy, psychotic cackle. Placing her hand on the mirror to steady herself as she kept at it, she figured _'what the hell'_, raising her head to take a look at her masked self...and it was then that the laughter stopped and she felt her blood turn to ice.

"Talk."

"K-Kane..."

She found herself face to chest with the hulking Big Red Machine, raising her head to look him straight in the eye. Though the mask she was wearing didn't convey her emotions that well at the moment, the fear that was seeping into her veins, causing her legs to tremble and nearly become wet noodles was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach. He stood there, very much in the same manner that he had the night before, looking down with curious, confused eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched as he studied her, reaching out with his bare, non-gloved hand to run it across the leathery mask that she was wearing on her face. He did this for a few seconds before he reached her eye. When he did that, he quickly pulled his hand back, as if her face had suddenly become poisonous, and he growled under his breath.

"Take it off. I want to see your real face."

She quickly complied and did as she was told, sliding it off and letting her long brunette tresses fall across her shoulders and over her back. She kept her head hung low, however, afraid to look him in the eye. Her breathing had become the heaviest she could ever remember it being. His gloved hand reached out and he put his pointer finger underneath her chin, swaying her head in his direction and tilting her head up to look at him. He continued to study her. He saw how scared the little girl was, how afraid that he was going to do something to her. Fearing for her existence right now. He could smell the fear on her from a mile away. All of it made him feel...alive.

"Don't be scared. If I wanted to eviscerate you, I would have done it long before you got me involved in this little game you're playing. You are safe. You have nothing to be afraid of."

His reassuring words didn't sound all that reassuring to her. She knew what a monster like him was capable of. He was the Big Red Machine, for God's sake! The amount of unspeakable things he had done to various Superstars and Diva's over the years, it made her skin crawl on the inside, and she knew damn well that if he chose to do so, he'd add her name to his list of victims he had compiled over almost fifteen years in the company. His finger remained under her chin, keeping it in place. She made absolutely no attempt to move or make any sudden movements, one wrong move and she knew it could be over for her. Then she really couldn't be saved...

"It is not my attention that you're trying to seek and obtain, is it?"

His words, so sudden, caused her to flinch and his finger fell from underneath her chin, she shook her head to see if he had truly spoken. Maybe it was more voices in her head, but she saw the questioning look in his eyes and on his lips and knew that it was real this time. She didn't know what to make of the question posed to her, though.

"I...I don't know what...you mean."

He gave her what appeared to be an insulted look. Shaking his head in disbelief, he closed his eyes and threw his greasy, stringy hair back, so that his fully masked face was all she saw. It was something, seeing him up close like this, in his towering and frightening...glory? She didn't think something like that could be glorious, but it was what it was. His hand reached out to her, this time flicking away stray tendrils of her brunette locks, so he could look directly into his eyes. He searched them, trying to find out her ulterior motives, looking to see what really made her click. He would be lying to himself if he wasn't shocked with what he found out about the girl just by looking into her broken down, heavy lidded, world-weary eyes.

"He's going to chase after you one day. When, I do not know. But be prepared to give in to what he wants. If you don't...then you truly will be left alone in this world. Maybe then, using that knife you have won't be such a bad idea after all..."

Her head snapped up almost instantly, eyes burning with half rage and half astonishment. How did he know about that...?

"I see the cogent look in your eyes, AJ. I know a lot more than I let on. And before you try to stand there and deny...hush child. Your secret is safe with me. But enough about that...heed my words, AJ. If you don't stop playing games, there will be nothing left for you to try to latch onto."

The monstrous man then patted her on top of her head, a small, sad...smile? He was smiling down at her? She almost couldn't believe it, but seeing as how everything had been going in her life as of late, nothing surprised her anymore. Here was this demonic, evil monster...and he was taking pity on her, caring about her in a way that only he could. Without even thinking, she stood on her toes and latched her hand onto his neck, pulling him down and crashing their lips together. It was the only way she could think of thanking him. For a few moments, their lips tangled with one another, in a twisted dance for dominance, before he roughly pulled away from her and shook his head. Wiping the saliva off, he walked past her, not saying a word. Upon reaching the door, however, he stopped short and let out an audible sigh. He was now blanketed by the darkness, but she could hear his heavy breathing as he spoke to her.

"You seek someone to care for you, to look out for you, watch over you, and be at your side. Someone to save you from the hell that you've been drowning in. You seek a _hero_. I cannot be that what you seek. I am a monster, I wear a mask. I'm not a hero and I never will be. But him...the man whose undivided attention you crave...he **can** be what you want him to be. He doesn't know it yet, but he can. But be forewarned of these two things that I am about to tell you. One...do not push him away. Like I said, he will come to you one day, and on that day, give him what he wants from you. Secondly, and most importantly...he is as broken on the inside as you are. He will never let on to it, but his pain and suffering is as apparent and visible as one of his many tattoos."

Having seemingly finished with his verbatim, he flung his hair back once more, ready to make his exit, but her low, hushed voice stopped him from fully leaving, drawing him back into the room. Stepping back in for a moment, he glanced in her direction and watched her, fidgeting back and forth, wringing her hands, looking like she was, for all intents and purposes, ready to explode into pieces. "I have told you all that I can tell you for now, AJ. The rest is up to you."

Finally, with that, Kane exited, leaving her on the verge of tears. As one formed on her eyelid and slid down her cheek, a sadistic, pained smile spread across her lips. She found her hand reaching out for the mask she had worn just minutes ago, and after grabbing it, she threw it forcefully against the wall, charging out into the hallway, looking for Kane. He had to have more answers, he had to know more than he was telling her, he had to, he had to...she found herself running full speed, making a quick turn, not even realizing that through her tears, she had bumped into something...or someone...hard.

Rubbing her temple and her now sore jaw, she saw a hand reach out to her in an attempt to help her back to a vertical base. Without saying anything, she took it, and wiped away the tears, mumbling a thanks to whoever it was, not realizing...

"You're welco...AJ? Is that you?"

Her head snapped up in an instant and there she found herself staring down the WWE Champion himself. Uneasily standing there, she tried choking out words to him, but she couldn't. He was giving her a sympathetic, yet equally guarded look. He reached out, cautiously, to her, trying to check if she was ok, but she smacked his hand away and pulled her own back. Emotions of many kinds swelled through her body, and it was making her feel sick. "No...", she spat out, seeing the somewhat hurt look in his eyes. "No...you're not ready yet. No. No! You're not! **No!**"

She ran off, not bothering to look back to see if he chased after her this time around, catch her and take her down, try and help fix her. She'd have been comforted, a tiny bit, to know that he took a couple of steps forward to give chase, before sighing and turning back around, his head hung low in defeat. She ran, and she ran, and she ran.

Right into icy, deadly blue eyes. They were the last thing she saw before everything faded to black...

* * *

**I know, I'm the worst. Next chapter will be up soon, I promise. Thank you all again. Hope you liked. =)**


	4. the house that doubt built

**Here's chapter four! I had a break from work so I banged this out quicker than usual. Again, thank you all for your continued support, I cannot tell you all how much it means to me. I can only hope that this story continues to entertain you. And now, on with the show!**

* * *

**Morning of June 19th, 2012**

He hadn't noticed the bus jerking into motion as they got on the road to the next city. His eyes were fixated on a lone, singular spot on the ceiling above him. It didn't resemble anything or anyone. His eyes just remained there. Staring blankly upwards, almost as if he was trying to look through the roof of the bus and at the black, star laden skies above. His mind kept wandering back to the events of the show. He had a tag match with Sheamus against Kane and...Bryan (how he loathed that name). He should have been dissecting the match over in his head, looking where to improve on, what he did good, all of the things he usually did after he had a match. But no. **No.** He couldn't. All his mind wanted him to think about was _her_. The way she inadvertently helped him win his match and keep his title at No Way Out. The look she gave him as she was being carried to the back, which everyone, not surprisingly, dubbed _'The Look'_. He had no earthly idea she was even there till he saw the replays. And now...tonight.

Why he hadn't stopped her in the desolate halls before the tag match, he didn't know. He could see the smile that she was wearing was forced beyond belief. And the entire outfit...the red and black, the mask...if he didn't now any better, he'd say she was patterning herself after one Harley Quinn of Batman lore. It was depressing and frightening all at once to watch unfold before his sleep deprived eyes. He should have stopped her right then and there, questioned her motives...anything to get through to her. At least in the comics, everyone knew that Harley's endgame was whatever the Joker's endgame was. Now, in the real world...nobody knew what the hell AJ was doing. And as a man who prided himself on knowing a great deal about all aspects of life, he was stumped and unsure of where this deadly road she was on was taking her...and him.

If it was his attention that she was trying to grab and keep all to herself, well, she had succeeded long before the events of No Way Out and tonight happened. The way she would look at him when they were in the ring together...constantly wearing his gear...helping him win matches...hell, she even saved his ass once, throwing him a chair to fend off Kane and whatever diabolical plans he had in store for him. She was always there, skipping around in the depths of his psyche, her words playing on endless loop...yet none of it mattered. He never tracked her down. He never spoke to her when they got behind the curtain. He never acted on any of it...watching her get abused, the signals she was seemingly sending him, all of it. He hated admitting this, but he wasn't man enough to confront her. And how could he?

He was as broken down and ripped apart on the inside as she seemingly was.

"Hey man...you doing okay?"

Snapped out of his thoughts by the words of his road wife, he propped himself up on his elbows, eyes wandering to the man standing in the makeshift doorway that led to his bed here in the back of the bus. It took all the energy he could muster from his bruised body to shrug his shoulders before he plopped back down onto the bed, eyes finding themselves on that same spot on the ceiling once more. The scraping of a folding chair being dragged across the floor filled the air, followed by the chair being set down at the end of the bed. Rolling his eyes, he turned onto his side so he wasn't facing his friend. He was in no mood to talk about anything right now. Why couldn't he just be left alone to his thoughts? Why did everyone feel it was their civic duty to check up on him and ask if he was alright? It was more than a little irritating.

"Well?"

"I'm as okay as I'll ever be."

"Dude, cut the crap. What the hell is bothering you?"

"Wouldn't **you** like to know."

The sentence came across as more of a statement than a question, but it nonetheless caused the dark skinned man sitting across from him to roll his eyes and sigh in frustration. It was always like this with him, always. Never wanting to talk about anything on his mind, constantly shutting his friends out, brooding silently everywhere they went...it drove him up a wall on more than one occasion. He understood that he was a lone wolf most of the time, and with that distinction came the fact that he wasn't necessarily...one with his feelings. But this was getting to be ridiculous.

"Why is it so hard for you to open up to anyone, man? We've been riding together for close to five years. Would it _kill you_ to talk to me about what's bugging you just _once_ in a while? Would it?"

"Just leave me alone, Kofi."

"How about this. If I guess what's crawled up your ass, you're going to talk. If I don't, I won't utter another peep until we hit the next town, okay?"

"Whatever."

"AJ."

Instantly, he snapped up, emerald eyes burning with abject rage, lips twitching into a scowl. He was now sitting cross legged on the bed, hands balled up into fists that were resting at his side as he thought of the right words to say. He thought about blatantly denying it, but the tick in his head had revealed his hand, and there was no way that he could worm his way out of this one. His breathing had become somewhat ragged, eyes darting every which way, almost as if he was looking for an escape from all of this. All while Kofi sat at the edge of the bed, leaning back in his chair, an almost wicked grin on his lips as he watched his fellow road wife do a lot of sinking and not a lot of swimming. He almost laughed at the entire situation, but laughter wasn't necessary right now, not at a time like this. But he'd laugh later, that was for damn sure.

"What about her?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

"There's nothing to say, other than she's got a nasty habit of interfering in my matches and has an obsession with wearing my gear. She needs to realize that this isn't a game, and she's gonna get herself killed out there one of these days. The sooner she realizes that, the better for everyone, especially me."

"Oh quit it with the bullshit, Phil. Man the hell up and tell me what it is about her that's got you acting like this."

Eyes looking up at the mention of his birth name, he suddenly felt an emptiness inside. Kofi's words rang through his head like a buzzing bee looking for a fresh piece of flesh to sting. He couldn't just go and tell him everything that was fucked up about him. Why he was so reclusive, so private, so introverted. Why he rarely, if ever, spoke about his upbringing on the south side streets of Chicago. His family. His father and brother, specifically. His life was a never ending series of tightly woven webs, and if that meant keeping everything bottled up, letting it slowly destroy him on the inside while he attempted to put a brave face on outside of it all, then so fucking be it. He couldn't be a hero, no matter how much he tried. It made his skin crawl and he felt like the lowest piece of scum imaginable on the planet, especially after watching the poor girl get beaten and abused countless times by that goat-faced piece of shit that he used to call a friend, while he stood by in the shadows and didn't do a god damn thing about it. He wasn't a hero, a savior. He was **nobody.** To the masses, they thought he was somebody, but he wasn't what they thought he was. It was a joke he was playing on himself. He'd try to fool himself all he wanted, but he could see through his own ruse.** He. Was. Nobody.**

He didn't even realize how much he had been lost in his thoughts, because he saw a pair of fingers snapping him back to the reality he lived in, an impatient and increasingly agitated look growing on Kofi's face mere feet in front of him. The sound of his foot tapping on the floor grew to be annoying rather quickly. He realized that his friend wasn't going anywhere without any sort of answer, an inkling as to what may be swimming through his thoughts at the moment, but...he had no answers to give. How could he answer his friend when he couldn't even answer the questions he asked himself? Narrowing his eyes, brows knitted together in an amalgam of conflicting emotions, he bit down on his lip ring, words escaping him. So he sighed inwardly, and went to his tried and true defense mechanism when it came to shit like this...and especially lately, with how things came to the ninety five pound enigma named AJ.

"I don't know. I don't know."

The words came out with little in the way of conviction, but there they were anyways, out in the open. He blinked, his heavy lidded eyes slow to react, the sleep that he deprived himself of daily evident in the way he looked. Kofi went to say something, but something else caught his attention near the front of his bus. And so he went, not without muttering that the two of them weren't done with this subject yet, but he went regardless. Sighing his relief, he fell onto his back and turned to his side, grabbing his headphones and plugging them into his phone, turning his music on full blast. He scrolled through the various songs he had on there until one came on that made him take pause as he listened to the words flow through his veins.

_"Don't get me started on what it means to be alive._

_You're lying to yourself and then still you act surprised._

_Cause you're scared, can't come to terms with what you are._

_The wolves in sheep's clothing will only lead you so far._

_You'll wait, and they'll go, cause in the end we all end up alone._

_So just wait. You'll know."_

He closed his eyes as he rolled over onto his back, a defeated sigh escaping his lips. Images of her skipping around filled his head. He could almost smell the scent of lemons and bubblegum, her scent, on his nostrils. Her smile, the way her eyes had a certain twinkle to them whenever he stood near her...he was taking in every positive reinforcement of her. But no sooner than he had done that, he thought of all the times he had personally seen her get abused, either verbally or physically. And the countless other times that he hadn't been there to bear witness to it...the idea of it made him oh so sick to the pit of his stomach.

A loud crack coming from inside the bus caused him to open his eyes. Removing his headphones, he stood up and padded down the small hallway to the front, and what he saw was enough to make him roll his eyes in disgust; Truth and Zack, both seemingly drunk off their asses, were attempting to wrestle each other, while Kofi, who no less than ten minutes ago was Mr. Serious, was in the process of joining the two men. He also realized, upon looking out the window, that they had stopped. _'We're in the next town already?'_, he thought to himself as he rubbed a hand over his nose and lips. Fate had awarded him a good hand for once, and, after quickly grabbing a hoodie and his old ratty hat, he slipped by the men, not saying anything, none of them bothering him to see where he could possibly be going. He had no clue where they were, but he didn't care.

The tiny pebbles crumbled under his feet as they carried him to destination unknown. Shoving his hands into his pockets and pulling the hood tightly over his head so that nobody would recognize him, he kept walking, the brisk night air a calming presence. He looked up and saw that the bus was parked out in front of the hotel that the rest of the crew was staying at. He saw the bright lights, the seemingly welcoming atmosphere that the hotel was trying to convey to the public, but it looked like just another two and a half star hole in the wall that was trying to pass itself off as a four star commodity. That was the life of the road, though. Never staying in one town for too long, crappy beds and getting dropped on your head nightly. It was the life he chose to get away from the life that nearly engulfed him. He'd make the same choice all over if he could.

Figuring that someone would be awake somewhere within it's confines, he strode silently into the hotel lobby, but aside from the bored looking clerk manning the front desk, nary a person was in sight. He walked through the double doors that led to the back of the hotel and found himself in front of the pool. There was nobody around except for him. The pool, however, looked like it had been heavy some occupants, as the water was still rippling like it would when people went swimming. He saw that the otherwise dry pavement surrounding the pool was wet some on the opposite side. Shrugging his shoulders, he pulled one of the chairs up to the edge of the water and sat down.

His reflection stared back at him, looking as depressed and beaten down as ever. His mind raced with many thoughts, none of which he wanted to really think about or act upon. All he wanted was a reprieve from the madness that had engulfed his life as of late. He wished he could rewind everything back to last November, the night where he captured the WWE Championship for the second time in his career. It was the best night of his life. And for those few hours, where he sat in the locker room and later in the bus, in complete silence, holding the title that he still held onto today...he wanted that back. He wanted everything to go back to _'normal'_. That day, he forgot about his issues, his deprived life, the facade that he wore on his sleeve, the act that he was fooling himself with. He wished everything was that easy. He thought everything was finally, finally going to be okay now that he was the champion and backing up his claim of being the best in the world. No problems, no drama...no anything.

But as he found out the next night, when Del Rio cracked his ribs with a kick that was designed to hurt him on purpose, he knew it was never going to be what he wished for.

Looking up, he caught a light flicking on and off in one of the rooms that faced where he was sitting. A few seconds later, he saw it happen again, and he could've sworn he heard someone shouting something. Standing up, he walked back into the hotel, around the corner and sure enough, he saw a door ajar. Growing too curious for his own good, he peered into the room and saw that it was an utter, complete mess. The bed was overturned, sheets splayed across the floor, all the lamps were broken, and the TV had been flung into the corner, and the chairs and tables were all over the place as well. He also made out the cracked mirror that was still splintering. He mused to himself that the bathroom probably looked the same. Shaking his head, he turned around.

What he didn't notice was the rather large mass of blood that had pooled at the bed and trailed out of the room and down the hall...

* * *

After another couple of hours out walking and keeping to himself, he re-entered the bus to find it pitch black and devoid of anybody. He could barely make out a post it note that was from Kofi, reading that him, Truth and Ryder had gone out and were staying in Zack's room for the night. Shrugging his shoulders and rolling his eyes, he flicked the lights on. Everything was as it was when he left, so at least he was glad the three of them didn't get drunk to the point where they began trashing the place. That was probably Zack's room that he had seen earlier. It wouldn't have surprised him. Reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone, it slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. Kneeling down to grab it, he did so...but his eye caught something...red. Dabbling his finger in it and then tasting it, he grew repulsed and spat onto the floor.

It was **blood**. And, as he could see, there was a trail leading to the back of the bus, where his bedroom was. His guard raised tenfold, he raised his fists into a defensive posture as he slowly made his way down the small aisle way, following the blood trail. Stopping short at the curtain that separated his bedroom from the rest of the bus, he questioned himself with whether or not he wanted to go through with this. Sucking in a deep breath, he scolded himself for being hesitant; this was his bus, his property, and he wasn't gonna let some motherfucker invade it. Balling his hands back up into fists, he flung the curtain to the side and stormed in, fully expecting a fight to be on his hands.

But what he saw shook him to his core...her bloody and bruised body curled up into the fetal position in the middle of the bed...

* * *

**Terrible way to end but fear not, all will be explained next chapter! Thanks again, hope you all enjoyed it! =)**


	5. under the influence

**Hey everyone! Chapter five! I was pleasantly surprised with the feedback on the last chapter. I'm glad you're all enjoying this story. This next chapter's a bit more darker than the other's, but that's what happens when you write these kinds of stories. Anyways, enough with my banter...on with the show!**

* * *

**Morning of June 19th, 2012**

He sat down on the edge of the bathtub, staring at his bloody knuckles. They were still throbbing, and they were starting to turn a nasty shade of purple under the blood that presently coated them. He turned his gaze from that of his pain filled knucks to the mirror mere feet to his left. It was one of the few things that had managed to escape unscathed from the fight that had erupted in there an hour ago. He chortled at the sight of it. Standing up and using the walls to steady himself so that he didn't stumble and fall flat on his face, he slowly staggered out of the small bathroom and into the demolished room. The bed, the television, the table, the chairs...he looked down at the shattered glass that once belonged to the mirror. He knelt down and picked up a rather large, jagged shard and looked at himself in it, not caring if he cut up his hand even more. His eyes were bloodshot, hair and beard unkempt and the scratches under his right eye were worn as battle scars on this evening.

Blindly reaching behind him, his fingers grazed across the smooth glass bottle that, shockingly, somehow managed to withstand the war that had overtaken everything. Wrapping his bloodied hand around it, he brought it up to his lips and took a generous swig of the liquid that burned his esophagus as it slid down the way and finally resided in the pit of his stomach with the rest of what he had drank earlier. He brought the elixir to eye level and ran his thumb over the black and white label that read Jack Daniel's. Blinking, he stared at it as if it was going to come to life within his hand. Unscrewing the top once more, he finished the rest of the whiskey off and then, without thinking, chucked the bottle across the room as hard as he could, watching it smash against the wall, the sound reverberating throughout the tiny hotel room. A sick looking smile crept across his lips as he watched whatever remnants of the glass bottle trickle down the wall, making it's grave with the rest of the destroyed furniture.

Her voice...more like her screams for help, her pleading eyes, they suddenly filled his senses and his thoughts, and he couldn't help but feel the tiny smile fade away into a scowl of disdain and rage. He had her right where _he wanted her_, and she somehow got away. He had followed after her, the droplets of blood that blazed him a path being his guide. But soon enough, he grew tired with chasing after her, and he retreated back to his now mutilated hotel room, where he found himself in the bathroom, reeking of alcohol and filled with adrenaline and pure anger. **He had her.** She was going to **pay** for all that she had done to him over the past month or so, and he was going to make sure she never walked again. Or _skip._ Oh, he hated how she _skipped_ around like she had no care in the world, free to do what she wanted when she pleased. He wanted nothing more than to break both of her legs and then snap her arms like the twigs they were, hear her cry in pain and leave her in a place that she'd never recover from. A place he had originally sent her a short while ago.

Thinking back to seven months ago, November, when they had started dating each other, he couldn't help but think of how _pathetic_ he was at that time. Trying to apply all that he had learned in Ring Of Honor, Japan and all the other indies he wrestled in. Trying to be the upstanding gentleman that he had been raised to be. It sickened him, thinking back of how much of a softy he was, how he'd become such a pushover. He wasn't a doormat. He was _Daniel Bryan._ _The American Dragon._ The best wrestler in the world...the words didn't enter his thoughts nor roll off of his tongue as easily and effortlessly as they had in the past. November 20th, 2011 invaded his mind, causing a grimace to grace his facial features. Oh, how he hated thinking about that night...

_It was the twenty fifth annual Survivor Series, and he was backstage, nursing various injuries. His arm and back were both wrapped and he walked with a heavy limp in his step due to his ankle having swelled to the size of a pineapple. He watched the event from the room that was set up for all talent not appearing on the show. He should have been...it was all thanks to Mark Henry. He looked on as the big behemoth defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show, his friend and mentor of sorts. Watching the match end the way it did, he wanted nothing more than to go out there and cash in the beaten up blue briefcase residing at his feet and teach that huge jackass a lesson...and become the new World Heavyweight Champion._

_That's really what it was all about. He wanted nothing more in the world to put that big gold title around his waist and rub it in the faces everyone who said he'd never make it big. He wanted the title because he wanted to prove to everyone that someone like him, an 'indy darling', could make it to the top of the food chain of the WWE, that the times had changed and the big mastodon's were no longer in control of everything. More importantly though, he just wanted the title because he wanted to feel important, to feel respected and admired by his peers. Before he won Money In The Bank back in July, what had he done? Choked out an announcer and get unceremoniously fired? Have an uneventful reign as United States Champion? Strike out with both Gail Kim and the Bellas? He hadn't done anything to change the perception in everyone's eyes that he would never break through the glass ceiling. He thought winning the briefcase that rested on the floor would change that...but all it had gotten him was a terrible win-loss record as of late and numerous ass kickings at the hands of Henry and Wade Barrett. He had nothing...and he had nobody but himself._

_Suddenly, he felt a hand brush against his own, and he turned to look into the chocolate brown eyes of his girlfriend, AJ. Oh, that's right. **Her.** He had honestly forgotten all about her the past few weeks, he was so wrapped up in trying to cash the briefcase in and become champion. She didn't seem to notice or care about the blatant neglect he was showing her, though, because every time they were together, she acted like they were the only two people in the world. And it wasn't as if he didn't mind having her around, because he liked not being a lonely bastard, but she could be just so...grating and needy and annoying sometimes. He kept his true feelings to himself for the sake of not pushing her away, but one of these days..._

_"How are you feeling, Daniel?", she asked innocently, taking a seat next to him as the next match began; CM Punk versus Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship. Her words went through one ear and out the other, however, as the sound of Madison Square Garden erupting in ear-splitting cheers for the challenger rocked the building to it's core. He watched as his old friend and fellow indy darling made his way to the ring, turning around to show the back of his shirt that read **'Best In The World'**, and seeing it made his blood boil every time. Where Punk had gotten off calling himself that, he didn't know, but it pissed him off to no end, knowing that his mantra, his tag line was being defaced...but when he turned to face AJ, what he saw damn near drove him over the edge more than four words ever could._

_She was watching the television intently, mesmerized with Punk and his mannerisms. When he climbed to the top rope and held his hands high, bellowing those same four words on his shirt, her eyes lit up and she mouthed the words along with him, the massive grin on her lips making his eye twitch as he looked at her. As soon as the match began, her attention was back on him, where it should have been the entire time, he said to himself. Tending to his every need, she did it with the brightest of smiles on her face, only watching the match here and there. It continued that way for the next twenty minutes, until her attention was diverted back to the monitor, cheering when Punk kicked Rodriguez in the face and then kicked out of the roll up attempt by Del Rio. Finally turning his own attention to the match, he watched as his old friend kicked Del Rio in the head for a close two count, then countered that into the Anaconda Vice and...won the WWE Title._

_His jaw just about dropped to the floor, eyes wide with unbridled shock. He wasn't expecting him to actually win the title. He thought, quite frankly, that he was going to fall flat on his face in front of the MSG faithful. It wasn't that he didn't have faith in his old friend's abilities as a wrestler and to persevere in high stakes situations like that...it's just, well, Del Rio had been so much better than him the past couple of months, and he fully expected him to retain the title tonight. Being shaken from his thoughts by AJ's arms wrapping around his neck in a hug, she squealed in excitement, saying how great it was that Punk had become champion and that he must be so thrilled for his friend. His hand was clenched into a fist, and he was doing his absolute best to not lose all control and snap on her right then and there. Why was she so happy for **him?** **He** was her boyfriend. She should be more worried about getting him back to full health and encouraging him to get back in the ring and chop Henry down to size._

_He heard a bunch of yelling, so, turning to look behind him, he saw everyone standing up and swarming around the man himself, the new WWE Champion. And right in front of him was AJ, bouncing up and down, smiling like it was Christmas, gushing like a fangirl in her praise for the new champ. He watched with gritted teeth and fury in his eyes as his girlfriend leaned in and planted a kiss on Punk's cheek. Hobbling over to the crowd, he snatched AJ by the wrist, tightly wrapping his hand around it and causing her to yelp in pain. Dragging her away, he muttered an insincere congratulations to the straight edge superstar while silently scolding his girlfriend. As they walked away, he looked over his shoulder at his old friend with contempt in his eyes, two thoughts running through his head._

_He was going to show AJ who the leading man in her life should be. And after seeing Punk...he told himself that that was going to be him one day..._

Looking down at his blood soaked hands, he trudged back into the bathroom, where he kneeled down at the bathtub, turning the water on to scalding hot, and grabbing a bar of soap to try and scrub AJ's blood off of his hands. To date, it was probably the worst beating he had ever given to her, the condition that the room was in being proof positive. Being able to wash off some of it, he turned the water off and found himself back in the room. He began wondering just where she ran off to. She couldn't have gotten very far, considering she was bleeding quite a bit and nearly bruised from head to toe. Feeling weak on his legs from the amount of liquor he had consumed, he nearly fell onto the floor and made his bed right there...but he caught something glistening in the light. Collapsing to his knees, he grabbed the item in question...it was a necklace, chipped off on one of the edges and jagged everywhere else...a CM Punk necklace.

He now knew where to look for her...

* * *

**Afternoon of June 19th, 2012**

Watching the doctor go to work, he ran his hand through his hair and sighed, exiting his bedroom and walking down the aisle to the front of the bus. It had been a couple of hours since he returned to find AJ in the position she was in, and the image of her laying there on his bed, looking like she had been to Silent Hill and back, would forever be burned into his memory bank. Thankfully, he had managed to convince both Kofi and Zack to stay at the hotel, and managed to get a doctor onto the bus on such short notice. When he probed the good man on what needed to be done, he thankfully told him that there were no breaks or fractures, just a lot of cuts and bruises all over her body, so after he cleaned and stitched her up, she'd be good to go. Where he panicked was when the doc asked him just how in the hell she had gotten to be in such rough shape. Fumbling his words and grasping at straws, he said he had found her at the bottom of a rather large flight of stairs, and that must've been what happened. But deep down, where the truth resided, he knew exactly what happened to the poor girl.

"Bryan", he whispered harshly to himself. It sickened him to no end that his former friend would stoop to this level of scumminess, that he would so badly abuse her the way that he did to the point where she looked damn near unrecognizable. He remembered the state of the room that it was in when he stumbled upon it, how it looked like a tornado or three had swept through it, and he was amazed and quite glad that she had somehow survived that. Turning his neck to face the curtain that separated the back from the rest of the bus, he could hear her whimper as the doctor, from the sounds of it, began to stitch her back together. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked to the back of the bus and poked his head out from behind the curtain, watching silently as the doctor finished sewing a cut on the back of her arm up. Fully intending to retreat back to where he once was, but as soon as he went to leave, AJ made eye contact with him, and they were frozen in time together.

Her eyes were filled with so much sadness and sorrow and self degradation for herself, it nearly broke his heart. She really, truly looked like a puppy that had constantly been abused by her owner, left for dead more often than not in the streets. Her face had a few stitched up areas, thankfully nothing too serious, though how it wasn't completely messed up was something that he'd find himself wondering about, he knew this. All he could do was offer her a small, comforting smile that also leaned a bit towards the sad side. But the smile quickly faded and was replaced with more curiosity as she leaned in and whispered something into the doctor's ear. He looked at her oddly, trying to affirm what she was saying, and she quickly nodded her head before becoming upright again.

"Well", the good man said as he turned to face him, "it would appear that your presence would make Miss Mendez here more comfortable as I continued on with my work. Do you mind staying? You don't have to watch."

Frowning, he made eye contact with her once more, and this time they were pleading...almost begging him to stay. Averting his gaze to the ceiling, he sighed inwardly, hot breath escaping through his nostrils as he ran a hand through his messy hair, having not slicked it back with gel. His head was telling him to turn right the fuck around and let it be, and let the man go about his business, but his heart and more importantly, his conscience, began to move his feet forward, closing the short gap and sitting down next to her on the bed, leaving some space between them. The doctor smiled before quickly returning to the stitching, this time on her leg, right above her knee. Gone was her tiny yelps of pain...she was trying to not look weak in his eyes, but what she didn't know was that she didn't need to not look weak, because he thought that she was a survivor if she could get through a beating as bad as the one handed down to her. She was tougher than he would ever be, and he would admit it if it came to that.

Having not paid much attention to what was going on mere inches away from him, he hadn't noticed her tiny hand slowly inch toward his own, before it was on top of his, her fingers interlocking with his own. Feeling this happen, he looked down and, sure enough, she had her hand in his, her grip surprisingly tight for such a tiny girl. He returned the favor, though he eased up and made sure his grip was still gentle enough though as to not cause her any unwanted pain. Lord knew she had suffered enough of it.

"Thank you."

She said it so quietly, barely above a whisper, that he nearly hadn't heard it the first time she had said it. Turning to look at her, he looked right into her chocolate orbs, a front row seat so to speak. And as he did this, delving deep into her soul through the windows her eyes provided him, he felt...something. A connection, perhaps. Whatever it was though, it put him at ease...and it made him realize that maybe, just maybe, the two of them were more alike than he thought.

"Thank you", she said again, this time a little louder so that he could hear her.

His grip tightened on her hand just a little bit as he nodded his head. A small ray of hope began to shine within him. Something he hadn't felt in what felt like forever. It felt...good.

"You're welcome, AJ."

* * *

The two men were walking down the halls of the hotel, looking to find a vending machine and then hit the gym real quick before heading to the arena for that night's live event. Then, hopefully, Punk would stop being a crabby old bastard and let them back on the bus.

"What do you think crawled up his ass this time around?", the tanned Long Island native questioned openly as they continued in their quest for a machine. "I mean, what's up there that hasn't already made a permanent residence."

"Who knows with him, man", the dreadlocked Ghanian said as they turned the corner and walked down yet another hall. "He sounded pretty pissed over the phone. And I swear, for the life of me, I thought I heard someone else in the background."

"Who the hell would he have on the bus, bro?"

"Call me crazy, but it sounded like-"

Kofi didn't get to finish the sentence, however, as all he saw entering his line of vision was a chair that slammed upside his face, instantly knocking him to the ground, crumpling up against the wall, busting him open. He saw Zack go down to the same thing, and before he blacked out, he looked up and saw...

"Thanks for the tip, _bro's._ Looks like sweet little AJ's coming back home to daddy."

...Daniel Bryan standing over him, a disturbing, purely evil smile on his lips as he turned on his heel and raised his arms into the air, the chair still in his grip as he disgustingly yelled **"YES! YES! YES!"** while he walked down the hall. Completely fading to black while his head rested in a pool of his own blood, one last thought entered Kofi's mind as he drifted off.

If only there was a way to warn Punk about all of this...

* * *

**What's gonna happen next? Only time will tell. Thank you all for your support. And now, off to sleep, and after that...time to watch Punk's DVD! Can't wait! #WWWYKI**


	6. someone to look up to

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter six. It's a brief departure from the dark tones the story has taken on, and a bit shorter than usual, but other than that, I hope you all enjoy! Btw, make sure to check out the new story that myself and Red Foxy are co-writing together, My life was normal, and then I met you! And check out her story, Take Me With You, along with Hostage & Not Over Yet by DemonicXaliv, Long Live by xlightafire, Impossible by RandomStories203 and Think Twice by UnbelievinglyRandom! All great stories that are all worth a look at. And with that, enjoy!**

* * *

She found herself staring out at the skies as the bus drove along the highway, counting the clouds as they passed by. They had been on the road for the last few days, driving across numerous state lines, nowhere in particular being their destination. After the doctor had stitched her back together, proclaiming her as good as new with the promise that she'd take it easy for a while, Punk got on the horn with Hunter and asked for a few days off for the two of them, citing 'personal reasons'. After a heated argument, the COO of the company had acquiesced and given them both what had been asked for, and they went road tripping. But ever since they left New Jersey, words between her and him had come to be few and far between.

The most talking she had heard him do was when he was leaving messages for Kofi and Zack, constantly wondering to himself why they weren't answering their phones when he would finish calling them. But other than that, he had mostly kept to himself, locked away in his room in the back of the bus, doing whatever it was he was doing back there, while she found herself trying to keep occupied with her phone, the various comics littered around the bus, and whatever else she could do to maintain her fading sanity. She mostly ignored the texts and calls she had received from her friends and her brother, the only member of her family that still bothered to keep in contact with her. Kaitlyn, in particular, despite their past differences, had called thirteen times, left six voicemail's, and sent twenty text messages in these last few days. It pained her so much to shut everyone out, but she felt like she had to fall off of the grid for the time being. It felt...necessary.

Looking around at the interior of the bus, her eyes drifted towards the white XBox controller, untouched the entire time she had been on the bus. She couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed it till now. She went to reach it, but stopped herself short, looking around the bus to see if Punk was around. The bus was silent except for the rumblings of the bus as it hit bumps in the road, and he hadn't heard him utter so much as a peep since she had woken up a few hours ago. She checked the time on her phone; it was one in the afternoon, so it wouldn't surprise her if he hadn't woken up yet or didn't feel like coming out of his cocoon just yet. So, figuring there was no harm in doing so, she grabbed the controller and pushed down on the center button, bringing the gaming system to life.

The title screen for Soulcalibur V appeared on the small television, and her eyes grew wide with anticipation; she had yet to play the game, and now she was practically given carte blanche to go into full on fangirl mode over said video game. Bummed that her favorite character, Cassandra, wasn't involved, she chose her next favorite, Ivy, and threw her into battle against Nightmare. She watched in awe as the graphics came to life on the screen, looking incredibly life-like and so beautifully rendered and quite articulate. She was especially pleased with the gameplay as well. She kept at it for a while, playing round after round, to the point where she had nearly beaten every character in the game. Needless to say, she was completely satisfied and enthralled with the experience. So much so that she hadn't even noticed Punk, curious as to what she was doing on his XBox, standing behind her the entire time, watching intently.

"Having fun there?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice, the controller falling haphazardly from her tiny hands and onto the floor, her heart skipping a beat as she flipped around to face him, her breathing now heavy as she placed a hand on her chest to steady herself. Instead of seeing a grin on his lips, however, she saw a look of concern and regret, as he was instantly at her side, feeling terrible about scaring her out of her wits like that, seeing as she was so on edge after all that had happened to her. The last thing he needed was her having a panic attack in the middle of nowhere as they were traveling.

"Crap, are you alright? I didn't mean to spook you, kiddo."

She slowly nodded her head, her breathing back down to a normal rate as she licked her lips and sucked in a deep breath. Picking the controller back up, she handed it off to him and scooted away from him, sitting on the edge of her seat, as far away from him as possible, not looking him in the eye. Eyebrow arched, he shook his head as he looked at the television and saw that she was playing one of Kofi's games, one that he had managed to whoop his fellow road wife's ass in numerous times despite never playing any of the previous incarnations of the series.

Deciding to give it a whirl, he picked a random character, played a round and soundly got his virtual ass handed to himself. Figuring that he was rusty from having not played it in a while, he did another round and it produced the same result of him getting his balls beaten in. Looking over to her, Punk saw the tiniest of smiles creep across her pink lips, the first one he had seen on her since the whole ordeal. _'At least something is making that poor girl smile',_ he thought to himself, his eyes trailing up and down her arm and leg, where the various stitches resided as a result of the abuse she suffered through. Playing a third round, he could feel her eyes on him as he mashed the buttons together, coming close to pulling out victory, but ultimately getting done in by a measly kick to the shin. He nearly threw the controller against the window, but he stopped and saw that that tiny smile of hers grew a bit wider, her eyes now fully on him.

He extended the controller to her. "If you think you're so good, then you give it a try again", he said, challenging her, trying to get something, anything out of her. Her being able to find her smile again was a step in the right direction. She shook her head in reluctance, however, not wanting to do much of anything except keep to herself and remain silent until they reached where ever it was they were going. She had thanked him for not kicking her off of the bus and for helping her get the medical attention she needed, but she didn't want to burden him any more than she already was. Once she was off the bus, she'd simply call Kaitlyn and leave him alone...Kane's words still filtered in and out of her head, and she knew that she couldn't be anywhere near him, and this was going against everything. But then a part of her thought about staying with him, despite the fact that she had no indication from him that he wanted to, or could be, the one thing she needed him to be. At least not yet...

"C'mon girl, you fancy yourself a gamer. Show me what you've got", he continued, waving the controller in her face while she looked conflicted on what to do. "AJ...", he then said softly, his tone changing as he inched a little bit closer to her. "I know that...what you went through must have been...terrible, to put it lightly. But I'm not here to hurt you or scare you, or intimidate you. I'm, I'm here to help in whatever way I can. So come on...show me how a gamer like you became so good. Please?"

She brushed the hair out of her way and looked straight into his emerald green pools, pleading being behind them. His words sounded so truthful and emotional...not like all the awful, horrible things that Daniel would say when they dated. It was like he actually meant what he just said to her. "I'm not here to hurt you", he reminded her once more, a small grin playing on his lips, the light shining a tiny bit on his lip ring. The controller was still extended to her, resting in his tattooed hand. Looking at him one last time, her eyes finally lowered down to the object and, slowly, she reached for it, gently taking it from him, making sure she didn't drop it again. He moved over so she could sit in front of the television, and then watched her go to work.

For the next ten minutes, he marveled at how she made it look so easy, mastering the game like she was. Putting the controller down, she let out a deep breath and smiled, and inside he felt...surprisingly good about seeing her light up like that, no pun intended. A smile graced his own lips as the two of them made eye contact. "Feeling better now, girl?", he asked, hopeful that he'd get the answer he was seeking.

"A little bit", she said in a low, yet squeaky voice as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Then, unexpectedly and in an instant, she scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, practically bear hugging him. His eyes widened, shocked at the sudden show of affection she was showing toward him. Unsure of what to do, he slowly wrapped his arms around her frail body, making sure not to touch her anywhere that she had stitches. "Thank you again, Punk", she whispered into his ear, her hot breath tickling his senses. Nodding his head, he removed his arms from her back and slid back an inch or two so he could get a good look at her.

She had a nice shiner under her right eye that she had done an admirable job in covering up, and under her left eye was a small cut that didn't require stitches, unlike everywhere else on her bruised and beaten body. Laced on her arms and legs were said bruises and stitched up cuts, and she looked like she hadn't gotten a decent amount of sleep in ages. She had, for all intents and purposes, looked like she was beaten to within an inch of her life. She had no reason to be up and about. He wouldn't have blamed her if she had locked herself in the bathroom for the entire trip. And yet...he had managed a smile out of her, more than one, as he currently saw, despite all the bullshit she had gone through. It was remarkable, to say the least, and it made him question his manhood even more than he already had been lately. She was the definition of strong willed.

"I should be the one thanking _you_, AJ, not the other way around."

Normally, in the past, he would have regretted saying something like that out loud, no matter the person, because he _'had an image to maintain',_ and he _'couldn't let people think he got all soft'_ and some stupid shit he would always spout off about. But now...all of it just felt ridiculous and silly and childish. He had his own issues, no doubt, and he always would no matter what, but none of it mattered right now as he drank in the image of AJ, head tilted to the side, curiousness and sadness mixed in together on her face as opened her mouth to speak. "Why are you thanking me?", she whispered. "You're, you're the one who helped put me back together and let me stay here...you could have kicked me out...a lesser person would have..."

"That's exactly why I'm thanking you, though. A lesser person would have stayed down after the amount of abuse you took...they wouldn't have gotten help, wouldn't have fought to survive...and that's what you did. You fought, and you got past it. You didn't give up. I know that I sound like John boy right now, all boy scout-ish, but...you're someone to look up to. You...you're a hero. More than I could ever be. And that's the damn truth."

It was now his turn to reach forward and hug her first, wrapping his tattooed arms around her body, holding her so gently as if she was glass and he was afraid that she was going to break. She instantly returned it, inhaling his musk and resting her head on his shoulder, a bright smile on her lips and a tear sliding down her cheek. A tear of joy.

Maybe he was more ready to protect her than she thought he was.

* * *

**And that's that! Is Punk closer to realizing his potential? Will AJ stick around, or will she drift away from him? And what about Daniel? What's he gonna do? Find out next time! And stay tuned for updates of Kiss Of Death and My life was normal, and then I met you! Lates! =)**


	7. running for safety

**Hey everyone! Been a while since I updated this, seeing as I've been so wrapped up in work and the story I'm co-writing with Red Foxy. Check it out! It's called, My life was simple, and then I met you. Hope you all enjoy reading that if you get the chance, and hope you all enjoy reading this! The opening lines are from a song by a band I enjoy, The Color Morale, and it's called 'The Sage Of Washington Oaks'. It goes along with the theme of the story, I think. Well that's that. Happy reading! =)**

* * *

_Maybe this time around we'll know what to and what not to do,_

_and we'll go on thinking about how we all could change._

_But what good is changing for all of them,_

_for all of them, for all of them,_

_when you're not changing for yourself._

_Save yourself._

_Change for yourself._

* * *

He looked out the window, the clear blue skies filled with clouds as they began to descend. Such a beautiful day for taking back what rightfully belonged to him. The sound of the pilot announcing their destination made his lips curl up into a twisted, almost evil grin.

_"Now entering Chicago, Illinois. Welcome to the Windy City, folks."_

Today was going to be great. Oh yes, it certainly was...

* * *

"Is he answering, bro?", the Long Island native asked, rubbing his temples to try and get rid of the headache that had been plaguing him.

"No, it keeps going straight to voicemail. Of all the times for him to have his damn phone shut off...", the dreadlocked Tag Team Champion responded back with, raking his hand over the cut on the back of his head, where he was split open.

"What do we do now?", Zack finally Kofi asked after a moment of silence, concern laced in his voice.

"We wait. And pray that if she's with him, he's not letting her out of his sight."

* * *

She woke up to the sound of his voice coming from somewhere in the distance, yelling something she couldn't quite understand. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she looked around at her surroundings and realized that it wasn't the somewhat familiar confines of his bus that she had been sleeping in the last couple of days. Adorning the walls surrounding her were various paintings and framed newspaper clippings. Slowly getting out of the bed, she slipped out of the room and padded down the hall, down the steps and into what appeared to be the foyer of the home. Rubbing her eyes some more, she peeked out through the stained glass on the front door, and saw a beautiful looking lake surrounded by trees and grass, looking like it went on forever and ever.

A sound of something crashing jolted her from her thoughts, spooking the living daylights out of her. That was nothing new for her, considering the past few months, but that still didn't mean that she didn't like that feeling. She hated feeling powerless, weak, and constantly scared, but there was nothing she could do about it. **Ever.** Shaking her head, she quietly and nervously tip-toed out into what she could only imagine was the living room, and that's where she saw him, sprawled out across the couch, laughing at the images on the television before him. Another crash nearly had her running back up the stairs, but she willed herself to remain rooted to her position. Opting to remain silent, she decided to observe him as he lay there, immersed in the events of what was happening on the television.

He was watching an old episode of The Walking Dead, so that would explain the yelling and the crashing noises she had been hearing. But other than that, she found him to be extremely relaxed, as opposed to the last few days, when he looked like maybe got an hour of sleep each day and walked like he was on pins and needles, especially in the hours after the doctor had put her back together and they got off on the road to where ever this place was. He had lightened up, bit by bit, but that still didn't make her feel any more comfortable with the situation she had found herself stuck in ever since..._that night._ She too, was having issues sleeping, the constant nightmares and horrific visions filling her mind to the point where she was crying almost constantly, worrying him even more when he would catch her doing so. She hated being such a burden, and was looking for an escape, but that didn't seem possible right now. Even with his heartfelt admittance to her that she was a hero and someone to look up to, she still felt quite uneasy. More than anything, she wanted to go home and be alone. Being alone was the only thing that made her feel somewhat safe anymore.

Watching the television, she winced when one of the main characters took an axe to a zombie and damn near sliced him into halves, right down the middle of his body. Normally, she'd be a fan of seeing such gore and zombie killing (she simply _adored_ zombies), but right now...it was a painful reminder. Of Daniel. His drunken rage. The sight of her blood everywhere. His maniacal cackling. She shuddered and blinked rapidly to expunge the images. He was laughing and cringing all the same at the scenery on the television, completely oblivious to her presence behind him, and she was alright with being invisible right now. She didn't want to disrupt him from something that he obviously took great pleasure in, she had done that enough over the last few days, she felt.

Having seen enough, she went to turn around and head back up to the room she had been sleeping in, when his voice rung through the air and stopped her in her tracks, mid turn.

"Trying to sneak away from Batman. Not the smartest idea ever, you know."

Turning back around to face the room, she made eye contact with him as he looked up at her from his position on the couch, a welcoming smile on his lips as he motioned with his head for her to join him in sitting down. She shook her head, silently assuring him that she was just fine going back to sleep, but he wouldn't have any of it, giving her a look that pretty much said she had no choice but to sit down with him and watch TV. Sighing to herself, she padded into the room and sat down on the other end, as far away from him as possible. He frowned at seeing this, but he shook his heads, knowing damn well that her wounds went deep beneath the surface, that she might not be able to ever fully trust another ever again, despite the mini breakthrough they had the other day. He had meant every word when he thanked her for being so heroic, and he couldn't tell if he scared her off with his truthfulness, or he had opened new doors with her. He was hoping it was the latter.

"You like the Walking Dead?", he asked, not looking at her, watching another zombie get decapitated instead. "Everyone loves zombies, am I right?"

She nodded her head in response, keeping her mouth shut as she focussed her attention on the television, ignoring the pleading look in his eyes that wanted her to just look in his direction and assure him that everything was copacetic. She wouldn't give him that, because she couldn't. Not yet at least. Sure, she had lowered her walls slightly enough the other day, but she knew she had gotten caught up in the moment, and her emotions had gotten the best of her once more. Now, her walls were back up, surrounding her at every turn, and it would take nothing short of Thor's mighty hammer, Mjolnir, to knock them down and get a peek inside. And even if he was going to try and help her, and try to help make her trust him, she didn't think she could do that.

But then Kane's words began to resurface in her brain, and she furrowed her brows as they swam around._ 'He's going to chase after you one day...be prepared to give in to what he wants...if you don't...then maybe using that knife wouldn't be such a bad idea...'_

Snapping out of her trance and shaking her head loose of the big red monster's truthful words, she looked over to the end of the couch, where he had been sitting mere moments ago, and found it devoid of his presence. The television was off, and she heard some rummaging around going on in the next room over. Standing up, she poked her head out from behind the wall and saw him, his back to her as he looked like he was going through the refrigerator for something to make for breakfast...or lunch, she didn't know what time it was, she had lost track of it long, long ago. Just then, he stopped and turned to face her, a knowing look on his face as he motioned for her to join him.

"You know, you don't have to keep hiding in the shadows like that. You're more than welcome to come and help out with making some breakfast. I'm not exactly the best cook...so yeah, help would be appreciated."

**Was** there any harm in helping the man who had been so damn gracious to her these past few days in helping her recuperate and get back on her feet make a few eggs, pancakes and waffles? She was hesitant for all but a brief moment, deciding that it wouldn't hurt at all. She was pretty adept at making waffles, she loved them very much. So, walking out from her hiding spot, she made her way into the kitchen, which had yet another beautiful view of the trees that surrounded them, and over to the counter, where all the ingredients were strewn about. She began to go to work, while he kept rummaging around, grumbling about never having enough stuff out here. That got her thinking. Just _where were they?_ Obviously, it was in the middle of a forest that was surrounded by a lake just outside, out front, but that was all she had to go on.

The question came out quicker than she had anticipated.

"Where are we?"

He turned to face her, a carton of milk in his hands as he placed it down on the counter next to everything, rolling his neck, hearing a distinctive crack before he looked down at her, into her eyes, smiling. "That, my fair lady, is a secret. You know what curiosity did to the cat."

She pressed on. "We spend how many days on the road and you still can't tell me where we are?", she asked, pushing a bit more than she had liked, not knowing what buttons to push with him as opposed to everyone else she had pretty much run afoul of these past few months. The last thing she wanted to do was turn him away at a time that she thought he was doing what Kane had said he would...

"Ah, well, I suppose you deserve the right to know. This place belongs to my friend Colt...I'm sure you know who Colt Cabana is", he stated. She nodded her head in response, waiting for him to continue. "The two of us used to come here every so often to recharge our batteries and just let everything hang loose...where we are is right on Lake Michigan, hence the trees and the fact that it appears we're in the middle of nowhere. Because we are."

It made sense to her now. Stepping back from the counter, she looked out the window again, and silently marveled at it's beauty, how picturesque everything outside looked. It really was peaceful and serene. No wonder why he came here, brought her here for the ride as well. She could live in a place like this. It was far away from any and everything. She liked being away from everything.

"It's so pretty", she commented aimlessly, touching the glass.

"We can check everything out later if you'd like. Right now though, I need help with the food, so get over here", he said playfully. She turned around and made her way back to the counter, and began helping him with everything. Grabbing the flour, she went to pour it into one of the cups, but as she did so, the bag ripped and it went everywhere, nearly covering her in the powdery white substance. He saw it all unfold and began to laugh hysterically, while she stood there, trying her best not to do the same.

So she took what was left in the bag and dumped it on him, and that was when she let herself laugh, let herself smile, let herself _shine._ Soon enough, she was throwing eggs at him, he was grabbing anything that he could find, and they were having an old fashioned food fight right then and there in the kitchen. By the time they were done, they were covered, from head to toe, in all sorts of food and liquid, and yet neither of them could stop smiling and laughing at the whole situation. She looked to him and saw the glowing look in his eyes, and how it made her feel at ease. Slowly, she found herself listening more and more to Kane...and giving in to what Punk wanted. And that was for her to smile.

* * *

She walked behind him, in step the entire way, as they weaved their way through the crowd at O'Hare, dragging their bags behind them as they clutched their tickets tightly in their hands. They were flying out to Texas, their few days that Hunter had given them off now over, and she was feeling better about everything now. Not a whole lot, but she knew she had to take baby steps. And Punk, he was a ball of light right now, which was weird for her to see, seeing as he was usually dark and moody. Slowly, she knew, he was getting through to her, creating cracks in her tightly built walls. And while she was still somewhat resistant to it, she knew that she couldn't be that way forever if it meant that he was finally going to step up and be her hero, her protector, her dark haired, tattooed, world weary guardian angel.

She didn't see him stop in the middle of the terminal, or the fact that he had dropped his bag and both his fists were tightly wound together. Bumping into his back, she grew startled, wondering what would cause him to do such a thing.

"Is everything alright?"

He didn't say anything, which only heightened her concern. She went to look around him, but he moved and blocked her vision, so she was stuck looking at his back. She tried again and garnered the same result. "What's going on Punk?"

He didn't turn to face her, but his voice came across stone cold serious. That was when she noticed he was breathing heavy and his hands were balled up into fists, his fingers looking like they were going to break the skin of his palms.

"I need you to listen to me, AJ."

"Punk, what-"

"Just listen to me very carefully, AJ. When I tell you to, make a run for the gate. Look at your ticket and memorize the number. Just run, and don't look back. Do you understand?"

"Are you going to tell me what's going on!?"

"Take your flight and get to Texas. When you run into Kofi, Zack, Truth, Kaitlyn, Layla, Sheamus, even Cena, I don't care who, just tell them that I need them to watch you while I'm not there. Am I clear, AJ?"

All she could do was nod her head in abject fear as she watched him slowly move forward, his bag left behind along with his hoodie, which he had discarded. Walking directly behind him, she kept her eyes trained on his back, then saw him lift his arm, his fist cocked back, at which point he looked to her, worry and rage mixed together on his face. "Run, AJ! Run!"

She took off, running as fast as she could, not caring if she knocked anyone over. After bobbing and dodging through the crowds, she reached her gate just as they were making the last calls to let people on board.

The last thing she saw as she turned around to find Punk was him in the middle of a brawl...with Daniel.

* * *

**And that's that! What's going to happen to AJ when she reaches the great state of Texas?**

**Will there be someone there to take care of her?**

**What's gonna happen to Punk and Daniel?**

**Find out next time...**


	8. beacon of hope

**Hey everyone! Been a while since I've updated this. In-between work and the holidays and the story I'm co-writing with Red Foxy (check it out and check all her stories out as well, they're fucking fantastic!), I haven't had as much time to devout to this or Kiss Of Death as I would like, and I'm going to try and change that. And check out the community that Jean The Guardian created, Punklee Nation! It's got all your favorite Punklee stories. Now on with the show!**

* * *

_kait...are you in dallas yet?_

_xxx_

_yea, just got here a little while ago...what's up?_

_xxx_

_can you pick me up at the airport?_

_xxx_

_i thought you were with punk?_

_xxx_

_it's a long story...i'll tell you when i land..._

_xxx_

He found himself staring at the clock, watching the second hand slowly tick by at it's turtle like rate. He had been locked away, sequestered from every and anything, for close to three hours now, his contact with the outside world completely cut off. All he saw around him were four beige colored walls. He was beginning to lose feelings in his hands, the handcuffs were on so tight around his wrists. He went to shake his head, but quickly stopped, the throbbing all over his cranium not wanting to subside any time soon. His right eye pulsated painfully like a still beating heart, he was pretty sure he had a cracked rib or three, and his left knee felt totally and utterly shot. That he managed to do as much, if not more, damage to Daniel, was of little solace to him right now.

He should be with AJ right now, on the plane or already in Dallas, shielding her from situations like the one he found himself in right now. It was stupid of him to do, getting into the brawl, but what would have happened had he not made that decision? He shuddered to think of what Daniel could have and would have done to AJ if he had somehow gotten his disgusting, goat-like hands on her again. He hung his head low, looking down at his sneakers, and sighed. He didn't want to know what his punishment for this whole thing would be when Vince eventually caught wind of it...

Looking up from the ground, he made eye contact with the man who had created this whole damn mess. Daniel was looking through the bars, his dark blue eyes boring holes into his own grey green ones. From where he was sitting and from what he could see, it hurt ole Danny Boy to take even the lightest of breaths, and that brought him a small amount of joy, before a sinister thought entered his head...he should have made sure Daniel wasn't breathing **at all**. They remained like that, their gazes locked on each other for moments at a time, before the clanging of a nightstick against the metal bars caused them to look towards the officer that was patrolling the block. The officer stopped in front of him and scoffed, a look on his face that said _'You should know better.'_ He turned and then snorted derisively at Daniel, before he continued walking down the block. There went his chance of getting out of here...

"Where the hell are the two of them!? I want to see their damn faces!"

The booming voice could only belong to one man, and only one man. He groaned. Guess judgment day was going to be sooner rather than later...

Upon hearing the doors slide open, Punk saw Vince standing in front of him and he knew right then and there that he was in perhaps the deepest amount of shit he had ever been in his entire life. Vince had that trademark murderous rage in his eyes, and Punk could see his hands shaking at his sides, like he was ready to strangle him. He almost wished he would.

"Where the hell do I begin with you!?", he spat out. "You're my god damn champion! The man I've hitched the proverbial wagon to! And you go and get into a fight in the middle of one of the busiest airports in America?!"

He sat there, still restrained, peeking around Vince in the middle of his tirade to look at Daniel, who had the biggest of shit eating grins on his lips as he watched the chairman of the board continue to fly off the handle. He wanted nothing more than to break free of his constraints and charge into the cell across from him and batter that goat faced bastard around like there was no tomorrow...

"Just wait until I get you out of here and into a more private setting...and you! Bryan!", he heard the emperor scream, turning around to face him. "You should know better too! Both of you, I swear, I feel like I'm dealing with a bunch of petulant children! You're both unbelievable!"

The officer came into his cell and finally undid his handcuffs, feeling coursing back into his extremities as he stood up and found himself face to face with the chairman of the board. Vince was still as red as a ripe tomato, and he swore he could have seen steam coming out of his ears as he was being glared down by the patriarch of the McMahon family. So he did what he did best; put on a facade and glared back at his boss.

"I should fire your ass for something as **stupid** as this."

"Nobody's stopping you, Mr. McMahon."

At that instant, they both turned to face Daniel, who was also now freed from his cuffs and looking for all the world like he was ready to bolt at a moments notice. That smug, disgusting grin was on his lips as he licked them, absent-mindedly stroking his beard as he looked at his boss and his hated adversary.

"I should fire _your_ ass too, Bryan. You're both at fault for being such fucking idiots."

"Are we done here?"

He asked the question, knowing damn well what the answer would be, but truthfully, he didn't care all too much. He just wanted to get the hell out of the damn cell and back into the light of day, back to the airport, so he could explain everything as best he could and then hop on the first flight to Dallas...he just wanted to make sure that AJ was ok. He didn't think he could live with himself if anything happened to her again...

"Bryan, get the hell out of here and get to Dallas. I'll deal with you separately. As for you, Punk", he said bitterly, popping the 'p' in his namesake, "you're staying here for the time being. You're not going anywhere."

His eyes damned near bugged out of his head as he watched Bryan smirk. Oh, how he wanted to wipe that nauseating, sickening smirk off of his goat face right now, so so bad. He couldn't believe that Vince was letting him go. He started this whole damn thing! And now he was getting off practically scot free!? This reeked of bullshit to him.

"Why the fuck do I have to stay here?", he questioned rather aggressively, following the elder McMahon out of the cell and down the hall to the front of the station. Silence. The whole thing was starting to grate on his nerves, and coupling that with the fact that he had no clue how AJ was doing, he was beginning to question his own sanity.

Grabbing his bags from the desk in front, he followed Vince out the door and back into the light, back into the airport. He looked around and saw that Daniel was nowhere to be found, which only made him feel worse about everything happening. If he had made it to the terminal and was boarding his plane already...

"You gonna answer me, Vince?", he asked bitterly, the two of them coming to a full stop in the middle of a crowded aisle. Passers by whizzed around them, every one of them giving him a dirty look as they moseyed on by. "I'm talking to you!", he said, voice raising an octave.

"I entrust you as my champion. I tell you to go out there and do what you do best, and that's be the best in the world as you so _love_ to call yourself. I don't ask for much from you, Punk. And this is how you thank me? You start a fight over some petty bullshit in the middle of the airport in your hometown?"

Each word felt like razor blades cutting his skin. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but every word the man in front of him had just said was true. He felt so ashamed of himself now...but then his thoughts drifted to that of Bryan, that evil smile gracing his lips, and the images of what he did to AJ consumed his mind. Why the fuck should he be feeling bad for what he did? He should have done more, he knew this. He wanted that bastard to suffer the way he made her suffer...

"Petty bullshit?", he scoffed. "You don't know the whole story, Vinny", he then snorted out, pushing the buttons he was so used to pushing. "I'm not surprised that you don't, to be honest. I'm also not shocked that you're punishing me when someone else is clearly at blame here."

"One more word out of that mouth of yours, Punk, and you can kiss the rest of your damned career goodbye! I'll make it so that you never wrestle anywhere ever again!", the chairman threatened. He didn't flinch. He had heard all the threats before, it was white noise to him now. "You think I'm kidding this time around, you son of a bitch!?"

He shook his head, the smug grin he had perfected over the years on his lips. He hadn't felt this confident about anything in a long, long while. "We both know you can't afford to do that. But go ahead, do what you think is good for business. I'm going to go do what I do best", he said, grabbing the handle of his bag and pushing past his boss, bumping shoulders with him.

"No you don't, you bastard", the elder man bellowed, quickly catching up to him. "Do you have any idea of what the fuck you've done?"

"Yeah. I started something. And now I'm gonna finish it."

He had never been so sure of anything in his life.

* * *

She slowly ambled through the almost deserted lobby, looking for a beacon of hope that didn't appear to be coming up anytime soon. _'She's not here...she said she'd be here...'_, she thought to herself, thinking of her best friend that was pulling a no show right now when she could ill afford to be left alone in the vulnerable state she was in. Why was the place so empty? This was Dallas, the heart of Texas...it should be busier than this.

Reaching into her pocket for her phone, she desperately called the girl she called her best friend once upon a time. Ever since Daniel entered her life, they had broken apart...they had just now tried mending fences, but obviously...it wasn't going as well as she had hoped. Nothing was anymore. The phone rang, and rang, and rang. Nothing. Voicemail. "Kait, it's me...I just landed...where are you? You said you'd be here...call me back whenever you can..."

Looking around, she still saw very few people wandering around. Was she even at the right airport? She had to be. There was no way she ended up in the middle of nowhere. Could she have? Just thinking about it made her nervous and goose bumps appear on her arms. She had to sit down for a spell and give her head a shake. Everything felt like it was spinning and she felt like she was going to faint if she kept walking along. She found a bench nearby and sat. This couldn't be happening to her. Then again...

She called her best friend again and received nothing but the voicemail. Sighing in frustration and shaking her head, she was starting to become more upset with each second that passed. Why was this happening to her? Hadn't she been through enough the past few months, hell, the past few weeks? What had she done to deserve all of this hatred, scorn, pain and suffering that was being sent her way? Everyone made mistakes. She made hers by dating Daniel for as long as she did. But the torture still wouldn't go away...

Looking up, she saw her beacon of hope, and he was wearing green. Standing up, she called out to him, trying to get his attention, but his headphones were in as he dragged his luggage behind him. Running after him this time, she reached him before he exited through the doors, tugging as hard as she could on his arm to get him to look at her. He looked irritated beyond belief, thinking it was some fan, but his features softened when he saw who it really was.

"AJ!", he exclaimed, that smile of his plastered on his lips. "How ya doing, girl?", he then asked, motioning for her to follow him out the doors and into the hot, sticky Dallas air. "Here all by yourself?"

She nodded her head, slowly, unable to find the words to convey how grateful she was that she ran into him when she did. She had always been able to talk to John before about every and anything...before the chips hit the proverbial fan. They walked down the sidewalk, signaling for a taxi to take them to the hotel where everyone was staying. When she didn't say anything, he piped up. "You all right, little lady? Need a lift to the hotel?"

"Yes", she squeaked out, not realizing just how dirty that word sounded coming off her lips. He nodded and smiled down at her again; she _had_ to tell him what Punk had told her before she left Chicago. But she didn't just want to spring it on him...this was John Cena she was dealing with here. The man didn't have an off switch, and he was always busy doing everything the company had asked of him. He wouldn't be able to watch her while Punk was...doing whatever.

"I have a question...it's more of a request from Punk actually...", she spoke softly, the words coming out whether she wanted them to or not. Word vomit had a funny way of plaguing her everywhere she went. She saw how John stiffened a little bit at the mention of Punk. She had to forge on now. "Would you...um...would you mind if I stayed with you? It'd only be until Punk got here", she continued on with. _"Whenever that is"_, she muttered to herself under her breath.

"What happened to him?", he asked._ 'He didn't know...',_ she thought. She was sure that the brawl would have leaked out by now, even if it only did happen a few hours ago. In this day and age, nothing was left alone anymore. "Is he sick?", he kept questioning, before a thought dawned on him. "Wait, a_ request_ from **Punk?** Is **that** who you were with the past week?"

They were simple questions, ones she should have been able to answer easily. But she had nothing. Of course. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him as their taxi pulled up and they entered. All she did was nod her head, sliding up next to him as the car drove off. "AJ...is something wrong? You know you can talk to me if you want. I'll listen to anything you have to say."

So many emotions began to swirl throughout her body now, and she didn't understand why. She knew he was telling the truth, they had been able to talk about everything in the past. He was a big, big help to her when she made it to the main roster. But they had drifted apart, much like everyone else she had become friends with...why he was being so nice to her right now, she had no earthly idea. All she wanted to do was cry right now. So she did. The tears began to flow freely, startling John a little bit as she felt her body shake. His big, gruff hand pulled her into his embrace, his hand rubbing her back, trying to calm her down.

"Just don't let him get me again...please...", she whispered, her lip quivering as she melted into his chest. He had no idea what she was talking about, but it must have been bad enough to make her break down like this, so easily. Holding her in his embrace with one arm, he used his free hand to grab his phone and text the one person who could have possibly had an idea as to just what in the blue hell was going on.

_punk...it's john. we need to talk._

_xxx_

_is AJ with you?_

_xxx_

_yes, but that's beside the point. what's going on?_

_xxx_

_just keep an eye on her till I get there. something came up._

_xxx_

_what the hell happened?_

_xxx_

_keep her away from bryan. at all costs._

_xxx_

He looked up at the bright electronic board that displayed all of the incoming and outgoing flights. His was leaving for Dallas in the next ten minutes. Ever since he had ditched Vince, he hadn't seen Bryan anywhere, which only raised his concerns.

He just hoped he made it there before Bryan did...

* * *

**Kind of ironic, having an AJ-Cena scene the day after she did the entire world a favor and shoved him off that ladder xD. What's with her shoving people off of or through things, huh? Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for more updates! =)**


	9. disposable teens

**Hey everyone! Here's the newest update! I just want to thank you all for the comments and kind words you've all left. It means a lot to me that y'all enjoy this story as much as you do. It motivates me to keep giving you guys my best efforts. And also, make sure to check out the story that Red Foxy and I are co-writing, it's a great read, and take a peek at Punklee Nation, created by Jean The Guardian, it's got all the Punklee stories you love and then some! And now, on with the show!**

* * *

"Wait here for a minute, okay girl? I need to talk to Zack about something real quick. I'll be right back."

She dutifully nodded her head, knowing damn well not to disregard his words like they were leftover trash. She watched him stalk off down the hall, rounding the corner and disappearing. So there she stood, rocking back and forth on her heels in the middle of the deserted hallway, patiently waiting for the golden boy to return so he could keep a watchful eye on her until her real protector arrived. She began to wonder what kind of shape he would be in when he eventually arrived; she knew he wasn't going to pull any punches when it came to her abusive, controlling, goat-faced ex-boyfriend. Shaking her head free of the images, she grabbed her phone to check the time.

Three o'clock on the dot. He would be here soon, she hoped, and when he got here, she'd feel safe and not have to walk on eggshells, even if John was going out of his way to make sure she was doing all right and had everything she needed. Ever since she saw him get off of the phone, something in his head must've clicked, because except for right now, he didn't take his eyes off of her once. She was honestly surprised that John listened to what he told him, because the two of them weren't exactly close or wouldn't be considered best of friends. Sure, they got along fine and respected each other, but for John to do him this favor...their respect must've gone _a lot_ deeper than she originally thought it did.

Blinking her eyes rapidly, she again checked the time and was surprised to see that ten minutes had come and gone like the wind. It also began to make her worry a little bit; John said he'd be right back...ten minutes later and her green and white beacon was still nowhere to be seen. Kicking at the ground, her black Converse scraping across the floor, she did her best to not let her fears consume and get the best of her right now. _'John will be right back. He wouldn't lie to me like that. I'm sure that any second now, he'll come back around that corner and everything will be just fine.'_ Except he didn't. Another five minutes passed, and her nerves were starting to turn to mush, her resolve melting like an old candle. Where the hell was he? A thought then crossed her mind and...no. _'No...no...there's no way he's...'_

She didn't get the chance to finish her thought, because before she knew it, she felt a pair of hands cover her eyes and mouth so she couldn't see a damn thing and, more importantly, couldn't scream out for help. This was it, she thought to herself as she was being dragged away and began weeping silently, the tears starting to streak from her sterling amaretto eyes. She didn't dare try to resist or kick free or remove one of the hands from her face, because she knew what would happen if she did. It'd be game over for her, and this time, it'd be far worse than the last beating in the hotel. No, she instead let him take her where ever he was going to, and just try not to cry like last time...she didn't want to show any sign of weakness in front of him. Punk taught her that.

When she could finally see again, she saw that she was in a dimly lit room. Spinning around to face her captor, she saw...nobody. Nothing. Just the empty, red colored room before her. To say that she was more than a little freaked out and nearly hyperventilating would be a gross understatement.

"So, it would seem that we meet again."

She knew that voice better than she wanted to admit. She turned every which way, but didn't see his hulking figure anywhere at all. That was just like him. Smoke and mirrors. But why did he do this? What was his game right now? She wished she knew just what the hell he was up to right now...

"**Kane.**"

She said it with a certain stiffness in her voice that hadn't been present in quite some time. It shocked her to hear her become so bitter sounding. Then again, the monster did what he did best, and that was scare the living hell out of her, dragging her here to the depths of the arena, his own little personal slice of hell. Looking around, he was still nowhere in sight, opting to keep hiding in the shadows, his aura preceding him. It was starting to irritate her.

"You sound unhappy to see me. I wonder why that is?"

It sounded a lot like he was taunting her, and that was what surprisingly made her blood begin to boil. She silently marveled at that as well. _'You spend one week with the man and already his better qualities are beginning to rub off on you',_ he thought to herself as she kept sweeping the surrounding area with her eyes, looking for any sign of the big red monster. Whatever his reasons for bringing her here, she hoped they were good.

"What do you want? Why am I here?"

The words echoed off the walls and bounced right back at her. Now, now she was starting to get more and more angered with each second that slipped away. John was probably wondering where the hell she was, and the last thing she needed was to worry John sick about her whereabouts. Not to mention that Punk would hopefully be arriving soon...she could feel the start of an anxiety attack begin to creep around through the pores of her skin and all the way up her now tingling spine. Her breathing was becoming heavier by the moment. The irritation was gone, replaced by a slow settling fear.

"I have some news for you. News that you will want to hear, because your safety is contingent upon me delivering it to you."

Her ears perked up and her heart began to beat faster, a never ending conga line thumping against her ribs. Her hands began to shake with wonderment and fear, palms becoming clammy as she found herself rooted to her position. That was when he revealed himself, emerging from the deep abyss of shadows that he called home, looking as terrifying as he always did. He stood there, towering over her and licking his lips while tossing his black, stringy hair back to show his fully masked face. A sickly smirk crept across his facial features.

"I told you, my dear, you have no reason to fear me. I don't wish to hurt you. I only wish to pass on some information to you."

"Then what is it!?"

She quickly covered her mouth and felt her eyes widen with complete fear. Oh, how she wanted to grab those dirty, angry words out of the air and shove them back down her throat. She didn't dare look up into his eyes, or look at him in general, because she knew he would be pissed with the tone she had taken with him. Instead though, she felt his gloved finger on her chin, lifting her gaze upward to meet his own. What she saw was equally disturbing and relieving; he was...smiling. She saw his yellowed, almost jagged teeth beaming down at her. It was unnerving to a point.

"He's here."

With those two words, she knew exactly who he was talking about, and it wasn't Punk. Her eyes grew to the size of golf balls. Fear washed over her again, and all she wanted to do was cry right now. Why was this happening to her? What if he knew where she was, who she came here with? God forbid, what if he decided to go after her by going after Sheamus or Kaitlyn or any of her other friends? Many, many thoughts raced through her mind, none of them good, all of them bad and dangerous. Kane noticed this now, how she had quieted and her throat felt like a boa constrictor, sucking the life out of her. He shook his head, his finger still on her chin.

"Do not worry, child. When we are done here, you will go back to the golden boy, the superhero, and he will take care of you until your savior arrives. I will watch from the shadows and make sure that there is no foul play in the air. But as soon as your hero gets here, you will not need me any longer. Now come, we don't have much time until this area is compromised."

Feeling him grab her by the hand, he dragged her out of the room and back into the well lit halls of the arena. She didn't bother looking at her surroundings as they flew by her; she was too pre-occupied with the fact that he was lurking, somewhere, possibly even watching her right now, waiting for the right moment to strike. A tear stained her eye, but she made no attempt to paw at it and wipe it away. Why bother? The tears seemed to be one of the only constants in her twisted, painful life. But then she remembered that moment she shared with him on the bus, his confessions, his scarred heart on display for her to see.

So she forced the tears to stop. She wanted to do right by him. And crying wasn't going to do that.

"Hey girl, sorry to keep ya waiting. Once Zack gets going, he doesn't stop...hey, you all right?"

She blinked and found herself standing next to John. She kept blinking rapidly, looking for any sign of the monster, but he was gone, once again, diving down into the ocean of the dark. But she could feel his eyes trained on her, doing exactly what he said he would; watch. Shaking her head, she looked up to John, into his gun metal blue eyes and comforting, warm smile that was laced with the tiniest hint of concern for her well being. He truly was a great man, she thought to herself. She forced herself to nod her head, tucking strands of her hair behind her ears.

"Can we go to your dressing room now? There's something I need to talk to you about that I'd rather...not do in public...if that's okay with you."

He nodded his head and didn't utter a peep as he grabbed his bags and took her by the hand, leading her down the hall to where he would be residing for the night. She kept her head on a swivel, constantly keeping her eyes open to make sure that everything was copacetic and would ensure smooth sailing, even if they were just walking a few minutes to his dressing room. Upon entering, he threw his bag to the ground and allowed her passage, letting her walk by so she could do the same. She looked at him with big, expectant eyes as he turned to face her, that smile of his still doing it's best to put her completely at ease, at least for now.

"What'd you want to talk to-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, she threw herself at him, her delicate, bruised arms wrapping around his neck, her stitched up legs folding around his waist as she hugged the ever loving life out of him. He couldn't help but grin as he did the same with his own massive arms, wrapping them around her broken self. Shaking his head, he thought one thing, and one thing only as he felt her place a kiss on his cheek, no doubt her way of thanking him for following the man of her dreams' wishes.

"Punk, I sure as hell hope you know what you're getting yourself into..."

* * *

He hit the ground running, ignoring the questioning looks that everyone gave him as he lifted his bag off the floor and carried it the rest of the way, doing his best to bob and weave through the throng of people in the exit gate. He didn't care if he damn near knocked some people over as he ran, he was a man on a mission. He ran for what felt like forever, passing terminal after terminal, gift shop after gift shop, before sliding down the rail of an escalator, landing firmly on the ground and taking off once more toward the pick up/drop off zone.

No sooner than he had done that, though, did the zipper on his bag burst open, his gear, spare clothes and the WWE Title spilling out onto the tiled floor. Groaning his frustration and cursing under his breath, he scrambled to pick everything up, haphazardly shoving it back into his bag, when he noticed that the title, his crown jewel so to speak, wasn't anywhere to be found. Looking up, he saw a bunch of kids, looking no older than seventeen, eighteen years old at best, holding the title in their hands. Rolling his eyes and doing his best to curb his anger with himself, he marched over to them, the fakest smile he could muster plastered all over his lips.

"Hey, mind if I get that back?"

They looked at him like he had grown a second head, contempt and irritation in their eyes, and he couldn't understand why. Then he saw the shirts they were wearing and he rolled his eyes; all of them were that bright, obnoxious shade of green, with his rival and sometimes friend's caricature saluting right there on the front for all to see. He sighed, looking down to his feet and cursing himself for being in this situation. He had no time or patience for snot nosed kids like this right now. None.

"Why would we give it back? We found it!"

"Because bad things will happen if I don't have that and leave within the next five minutes."

The kids standing in front of him rolled their collective eyes, taking his words as a challenge. He couldn't believe he was being kept from her because some douchebag little boogers wanted to play superhero and act like the man on their shirts. Before anything else could be said, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, so he grabbed, and he saw that he had a text from the leader of the Cenation himself.

_show's ending in a half hour, i'm about to go on. where the hell are you? AJ's getting worried._

That was all he needed to hear. Reaching forward, he forcefully grabbed his WWE Title from the hands of the kids, shoving the three of them on their asses before making a beeline for the front doors, kicking them open with as much strength as he could muster, stepping onto the pavement and into a mass of humanity and taxi cabs. Seeing the first one pull up, he shoved his way past a group of people, not caring if they were the ones who potentially flagged it down. He tossed his bag into the backseat and then threw himself into the vehicle as well, pounding on the glass that separated him from the cab driver.

"American Airlines Center, **step on it**, I don't care what laws you break, just get me there in less than ten minutes and I'll make it worth your while."

The small man didn't bother to turn around; he instead gave a thumbs up and immediately put the pedal to the metal, the wheels of the cab squealing and screaming as the car burned rubber out of the lot, past a group of angry individuals, some of whom actually gave chase before quickly giving up. He saw them through the back window and breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be out of that airport, and happy to be one step closer to getting her back and keeping her safe.

Now all he had to do was wait.

* * *

She watched on the television John had set up in his dressing room as he saluted the fans and raced down the ramp and slid into the ring, ready for his battle with Big Show. She shuddered at the mere sight of him, absent-mindedly beginning to rub the back of her neck. She hadn't forgotten what he did to her, despite it being an accident. It was one of the most traumatic experiences of her life, getting trucked over by him, that mass of humanity wearing camouflage. She saw the steel cage lower around the ring, trapping the two men in the ring, while the bell rang and the fans began to chant.

She glanced at her phone and began to wonder if he was ever going to show up. It worried her to no end, knowing that she was now all alone, the only things keeping her safe from everything being a locked door and a promise that she didn't know would be kept or not. She tried to think happy, positive thoughts, but it was to no avail. Daniel would penetrate those thoughts, his demented smile, disgusting beard, those cold, calculating eyes...everything about him screamed pure evil.

A pounding on the door jarred her from her thoughts. She thought nothing of it at first, thinking someone out in the hall had banged a production crate against it, and went back to watching the match. A few seconds later, the loud pounding returned, startling her again, causing her to jump out of her seat and back away from the door. She instantly feared the worst; it was him on the other side, her maker, the bane of her existence, her own personal grim reaper wearing maroon and screaming that horrible three lettered word over and over to the sick delight of no one but himself and those who didn't know his true colors. Many a night, she would have nightmares of him just screaming and repeating that word, usually while doing some unspeakable act to her. She never wanted to hear that word ever again for as long as she lived.

Frantically looking around the room for something, anything, to defend herself with, she clutched the chair she had been sitting in, her only safeguard against the attack that was surely coming. When the door finally gave way and broke open, she yelled at the top of her lungs and charged forward, looking to swing for the fences and make sure every second of it counted.

"Fuck, AJ, **wait!** It's **me!** Don't swing!"

She swung anyways, not really hearing who the voice belonged to over her screams. But she did hear the chair connect with the wall, then felt it get ripped from her tiny hands. When she composed herself quick enough, she found herself gazing into those moss colored, heavy lidded eyes, the ones that could penetrate her soul and make her weak in the knees...and make her feel safe. He was breathing heavy, no doubt from having to duck her ill fated swing of the chair. He looked around the room and saw that she was alone, which he took as a good sign. He reached forward and grabbed her hand, relieved that, for the first time, she didn't shy away from his touch.

"We need to get going and hit the road. So grab your stuff and let's head out..._now._"

It was more of a command than a statement, but she didn't care; she was willing to go anywhere with him if it meant he was going to fulfill her wildest dreams...if it meant he was going to shield her from everything. She grabbed her bag and, without warning, was jerked through the busted door and out into the hall, the two of them running at a breakneck pace to the garage, to the safe haven of the bus. She ignored the looks of everyone that they passed, she didn't care. She was going to be safe again. He was going to protect her.

They didn't notice the blue eyes watching, not very far away, licking his lips and stroking his beard. A disturbing grin curled up onto said lips. He knew what their next move was going to be before they even made it

"Yes. Yes. **YES.**"

He followed after.

* * *

**And that's that. Hope you all enjoyed, and to those who watched SmackDown this week, the Punk promo from Miami was gold and AJ...she leaves little to the imagination, doesn't she? xD. Stay tuned for more updates! =)**


	10. a trip down rainbow road

**Hey everyone...here's the latest update. Been a crazy last few weeks, but I finally managed to get this all done and here it is. I'm new to writing the deeply intimate scenes, and I gave it my first go around in this chapter, so please, let me know if I suck at it and should stop xD. That's all I've got to really say. Enjoy the ride!**

* * *

**Somewhere between Texas and Arkansas...**

_"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round.."_

For some reason, she found herself humming the children's song on infinite loop in her head as she watched the bus hum along on the highway, zipping by road signs, everything becoming a blur of landscape, exit ramps and nonstop pavement. They were on their way to Arkansas for the next round of shows, and hopefully, she was going to be far, far away from the bane of her existence. They had a very close call back there in Dallas, and she was thankful that she made it out in one piece, that nothing had happened. All thanks to him. Though if she could change one thing, she'd take back the fact that she nearly decapitated him with that steel chair...

It was silent, like always. No Kofi, Zack or Truth again; he had told them he needed the bus to himself, so that he could keep a watchful eye on her without any distractions. And they were gracious enough to step aside and do that for him, realizing that what had started out as an innocent little game of hard to get had become so much more than that. It had become this violent twist of love and pain, with a touch of psychosis for added drama. She had no reason to believe that she wouldn't be safe while under his guard, because he finally seemed to be waking up and smelling the roses that she had been wanting him to smell since last month. She was going to be okay as long as she stuck to him like glue. No worries.

Looking to the back of the bus, she saw him get up off his bed and make his way to the bathroom adjacent to the shower, which was what she presumed he was doing. It then dawned on her that, well, she hadn't had a nice, hot, halfway-decent shower of her own in quite some time. But she couldn't ask him if she could do that; it was his bus, his rules, his property. She was just grateful enough to be a guest here, whether she was welcome or not, though now, she felt a little bit more welcome than she had when she previously stayed.

When he walked past her, to the front of the bus in search of something from his bag, she made eye contact with him, and he immediately stopped what he was doing to face her. He had a questioning look on his face, eyebrow raised like a certain Hollywood star, waiting for her to say or do something. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh.._um_..." She hated being put on the spot like this, even by someone like him. All she wanted to do was take a shower...why was it so hard to ask a simple question like that? God, she really hated what that goat faced jerk had done to her...made her afraid to ask even the most mundane of questions, made her afraid to do anything...she could feel the white hot stir of nervousness in the pit of her rumbling stomach, being under his intense glare, it didn't make her feel good at all. It made her feel oh so small. Microscopic, even. "I was just...uhm..."

She looked around, cursing herself for not being able to ask the man a damn stupid question about whether or not she could take a shower, and also now for looking for something else to ask him about. When she saw something protruding from her own bag, her eyes lit up and she instantly grabbed it, holding it up to him like it was the prize at the bottom of a bag of Cracker Jack's and she was five years old. "Can I hook my Nintendo Wii up to the tv?"

He burst out into a fit of laughter, sitting himself down across from her in Kofi's seat, his one arm wrapped around his stomach to try and control himself, while his other hand was pounding the table as his face turned red. She didn't know how to respond to it, but she still raised a questionable eyebrow in his direction, wondering just what the hell was so funny to him. Yes, she knew it was a silly question, one that strayed way off topic from what she wanted to really ask, but it couldn't have been as hilarious as he was finding it to be...

"Of _course_ you can! Christ girl, you had me thinking something serious had come up for a second there", he commented as the laughter subsided and he stood up, the red draining from his face as he smiled down at her, grabbing a spare towel from his bag. "Go right ahead and plug it in there. What'cha gonna play?", he then asked her, also taking some deodorant for himself, still facing her as she fumbled around with the box.

The bus hit a bump in the road and the box fell from her hands. She bent down to pick it up but saw that he had the same idea, and she found her face mere inches from his, both of them staring deeply and intently into each other's eyes. They held each other's gazes for a few moments there, devouring each other with unspoken want and silent wonder. She wondered what it would be like to be able to kiss those perfect, jagged lips of his...to nibble on that perfectly placed lip ring...to feel those lips of his crash onto hers...truthfully, he was thinking the same thing. They were both getting ahead of each other though. She shook her head and grabbed the box, sitting back up, watching him do the same, rubbing the back of his neck, an awkward grin on his lips.

"Oh yeah! I'm gonna play Mario Kart...because you asked what I was playing..._oh boy_..", she said, whispering the last two words to herself as she quickly turned around in her seat to face the television, going about the process of hooking it up, while he muttered something under his breath to himself, doing an about face and heading to the shower so he could have some time to himself to think about what just happened there. She thanked the skies above that he wasn't standing within three inches of her anymore, because it felt like her body heat had been turned up to the max, and she began to nervously giggle to herself. She hadn't felt anything like that in...forever...when she first met Daniel...

Of course, his face invaded her thoughts and ruined everything for her. She shuddered at the image of his sick, cruel, disgusting smile and that god awful three lettered word that would follow her everywhere she went. _"Good thing her has no damn clue where we are right now...I hope..."_, she thought to herself as she fiddled around with the various plugs on her Wii and with the television. Crap, this was harder than she thought it was going to be. It had been a while since she had done this with a video game system, but a few minutes later, she sat there, wearing a proud smile as her little Nintendo Wii rested nicely next to his larger than life XBox 360. It looked cute, almost, how they nearly molded together, even if they were inanimate objects.

She felt the sudden urge to snap a picture of it. She didn't know why...it just kind of reminded her of what she wanted from life someday. Someone to come home to. Someone to settle down with. Someone that could make her happy...but she was still so young and tied up in this three ring circus from hell called the world of professional wrestling. She loved being a wrestler, she really did...but not if it meant having to constantly be on the run from someone she once loved, someone who thought she was his property...she wanted to show him the same kind of abuse he had shown her one day. She wanted to show him that she was stronger than he would ever be. One day, one day...

Her phone buzzed and vibrated. Grabbing it from the counter, it was a text from Kaitlyn, asking her how she was doing and where she was, who she was with. Even after basically alienating her along with the rest of her other friends...Kait kept coming back, trying to make sure that she was doing okay...their friendship was standing the test of time. She knew she'd never have another friend like Kait.

_I'm with punk...we're heading to arkansas._

_xxx_

_oh, okay, good...u 2 are riding alone?_

_xxx_

_yea, kofi, zack and truth gave punk the bus to himself...why?_

_xxx_

_don't do anything i wouldn't do, girl..._

_xxx_

_what's that supposed to mean?_

_xxx_

_i'm just sayin, if i was alone on that bus with him, the things i'd do..._

_xxx_

_omg kait! head out of the gutter, please!_

_xxx_

_i wouldn't be me if i wasn't making you blush ;)_

_xxx_

_why are you my best friend again..._

_xxx_

_get some girl! you need it!_

_xxx_

She groaned in frustration, her cheeks a reddish tint as she thought about the dirty images that her best friend had now implanted in her brain. "I'm going to hurt her the next time I see her", she murmured to herself, not noticing that he had stepped out from the shower, watching her from afar.

"Who are we hurting, now?"

Upon hearing his voice, her eyes drifted quickly back down to her phone, where another message from Kaitlyn appeared, one that both made her slightly embarrassed and made her think about how true it was.

_after all u have been thru..u deserve to be treated right 4 a change. u can't deny that, girl._

"Nobody, nobody at all", she muttered under her breath as she hastily shoved her phone into her back pocket, but that didn't stop him from walking up to her and snatching it easily from her and scrolling through the messages, while she tried, in vain, to stop him from seeing what her best friend was just telling her. "Come on, Punk! There's nothing important to read there!"

"The way you're fighting me for your phone tells me differently, Miss Mendez", he said with a grin as he held her at bay, scrolling through the messages. After reading all of them, his eyes widened a bit, but the grin remained as he handed her phone back to her, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't know how exactly to respond to those, but at least he wasn't alone in sharing the embarrassment. Though he could clearly tell that she was more bugged by it than he was, evidenced by the shade of red her cheeks had taken on. "Your best friend...she sure has a way with words, doesn't she?"

She couldn't bring herself to respond verbally, instead nodding her head furiously before turning around to face the television, turning it on along with her Wii so that she could distract herself from the many dirty thoughts that had now been planted into her mind by her best friend whose head always seemed to be in the gutter. She knew that Kaitlyn meant well, she really did...but damn that girl if she didn't make her heart start beating like a war drum right now against her ribs. _'Just avoid eye contact, just avoid eye contact...'_, she silently told herself, hoping he wouldn't say anything more about the subject and that he'd leave her in peace.

"So, Mario Kart, huh? Got room for one more?"

She faced him, a lopsided, goofy smile on her lips that wasn't there but a moment ago. "Sure!", she squeaked out, looking back to the television, her face even redder than before. What the hell was up with her? She gave her head a shake, trying her best to ignore the swirling cauldron of mixed emotions bouncing around in her stomach. Her attempts went right out the window of the bus, though, when he sat down next to her, both of them now sitting Indian style on the floor, their legs grazing against each other with every bump in the road they hit. She could feel tingles of electricity just from that. Really, what the hell was up with her?

They sat there in silence, a **welcome** silence, as she grabbed her controller and navigated the start menu to pick a two player race. She, of course, picked Toad, because he was totally badass, while he picked Bowser...which didn't surprise her at all. When she got to the courses, he nudged her with his shoulder, attempting to gain her attention, but she kept a steely resolve and built a wall up around herself. Or was trying to. He nudged her again, but she still said nothing.

"So what track are we racing on?"

Nothing.

"You know, I have ways of getting answers out of people...don't make me use them..."

"We're taking a trip down Rainbow Road."

He grinned at her, his tongue running over his lip ring. He didn't think it'd be_ that_ easy to get an answer out of her. "Rainbow Road, huh? I enjoy a challenge."

She then looked to him, a glint in her eyes that he hadn't seen there before. A devilish little smirk curled up onto her lips as she spoke back to him. "I bet you do."

Now she found herself opening flirting with and challenging him? She needed to open a window and let some cold air smack her in the face, because she was becoming delirious in this sweltering summer heat. That feeling of anxiousness began to float around in her stomach again like a flock of butterflies, and she could actually feel some sweat beginning to form on her forehead. What was it about this man that made her turn into a pile of mush? Okay, dumb question, she silently scolded herself...if it wasn't the beard, it was his lip ring...if it wasn't that, it was his eyes...or his toned, ripped body...or his tattoos...she found herself wondering what it'd be like to trace an imaginary outline around the mosaic of ink on that chest of his. Her mind was slowly going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole...she was going to **kill** Kaitlyn when she saw her next.

They played out their race in silence, except for when one of them would fall off the map and have to restart, which happened quite a lot. They would scream and holler when that happened, but for the most part, they kept their mouths zipped, only glancing at each other every so often, their eyes filled with the desire to win...among other things. Eventually, after splitting two races, they decided that whoever won the fifth and final race would get to sleep on his bed in the back of the bus, while the loser had to make due on the couch.

"Hah! I win! You lose!", she exclaimed, pointing at him and sticking her tongue out, her arms raised in victory. He shook his head, having completely underestimated her ability as a gamer. He should have known better. "Oh boy, I bet it's gonna be sooo nice sleeping in that bed", she sang, her inhibitions having been suppressed for a moment, before she realized what she was doing and quickly became quiet again. Extending her hand out to him for a shake, she offered up a tiny smile. "Good game", she whispered to him.

Rolling his neck, a disbelieving grin spread across his lips. Wiping sweat from his brow, he took her hand and shook it, being a good sport about the whole thing. "I know who not to mess with anymore when it comes to video games. You're the queen of this shit", he said with that grin still there, dragging his front teeth over his lip ring, then his tongue across his lips. "Seriously though...hope you enjoy the bed. It's surprisingly comfy, and don't take any offense to this...but you look like you could use a good night's sleep."

He smiled at her and it was then, right then, that she felt a white hot burn of...desire, grow out of nowhere in her stomach. She studied him for a moment, both of them forgetting that they were still holding each other's hands. She watched as he kept running his tongue over his lip ring, and that smile of his, God, was it such a pretty smile...before she knew it, she did the one thing she thought she'd never do.

She lunged forward...and kissed him.

The momentum from her launching herself at him like a missile toppled him onto the ground, but she didn't seem to care, as she was still too busy attacking his lips with her own, without any care in the world for what the hell came over her and why she was doing it; she just wanted to enjoy this, taste him, get a good feel for him...most importantly, much like Kait had said...she wanted to feel good about herself.

She kept it up for a good couple of minutes, straddling him as she pressed her body against his, still assaulting his lips, even managing to get a quick nibble on his lip ring, before she broke it off and took in a deep, deep breath. Her heart was racing a million miles a minute, evidenced by the thumping it was making against her ribs, loud enough that she was sure he could hear it. Sweeping away her dark mahogany locks, she saw the goofy, shocked look on his face. He couldn't believe it either. She went to say something, but he raised his fingers and put them on her lips, hushing her, so he could process everything before he did anything else.

Taking a deep breath of his own, he grabbed hold of her shirt, tugging on it, but she didn't seem to notice...so, as gently as he could, he pulled her back down and, this time, he crashed his lips onto hers...and they both went to town on each other. Their carnal natures took over and they kept at it, attacking each other's senses letting the moment consume them, neither one of them wanting it to end. It remained like this for a couple of minutes, until the bus hit a bump in the road, causing them to knock foreheads for a moment. She didn't miss a beat though; instead of going back to kissing him, she slid her hands down onto his chest and began pulling at his shirt, attempting to take it off, but he quickly put the kibosh on that...even if it killed him to do so.

"Are you...sure...you want to...do this?", he asked her in-between breaths, his shirt half off, with her hovering over him, lust and hunger in her almond shaped eyes that were shining in the lights. She couldn't bring herself to speak, only shyly nodding her head while biting down on her lip, her hands still grasping his shirt, watching him prop himself up with his elbows. That trademark grin of his appeared and before she knew it, he was on his feet and scooping her up into his arms bridal style, placing soft, soothing kisses along her cheek and jawline. The small whimper that came from her throat told him she was enjoying it and really did want this to happen.

Placing her down gently on the bed, he got on himself, placed between her legs as she sat up to drink in his torso. Moving his arms to the side, he let her remove his shirt, and she did so like an animal, damn near ripping it off of him. She was almost too eager for her own good, and it made him chuckle. He could sense the want and need vibrating off of her body, but he decided he'd play around with her a bit, take his time...make her enjoy this as much as he was going to. Leaning down, their lips met once more, but as they kissed, his breath hitched in his throat as he felt her hands roam down toward his belt buckle, feeling her tug at it to undo it. Not to be undone, he slid down and placed soft, sensual kisses on her neck, shoulder, collarbone, then made his way down to her stomach, her body tensing up as he took in her beauty. He could feel...sense...know how aroused she was beginning to get.

With her nodding her approval, he grabbed her belt and undid it rather quickly, discarding it to the side. She arched her hips up so that he could relieve her of her jeans, and what a great feeling it was being undressed by him. Now all that stood between him and nirvana was the kinkiest set of panties he never thought a girl like her would own...black, lacey, revealing. It turned him on even more. He watched her eyes widen with anticipation as he licked his lips. She sat up for a moment, stripping her own shirt off to reveal the bra that matched it and god damn...she was gorgeous. Even with the various bruises and still-healing cuts that littered her body...she was so fucking beautiful to him. And she trusted him. She didn't need to verbalize it or anything like that...she was letting him look at her in this light, and was about to freely let him take her to a better place.

He was beginning to become a bit uncomfortable in his pants, his arousal obvious to them both. When her hand tickled across his lower abdomen, right underneath his straight edge tattoo, he looked to her. "Do you want the honors?", he asked her, knowing what her answer would be. She nodded eagerly and he smiled, loosening his belt for her before letting her finish the job. A few seconds later, he was clad in only his boxers, watching her lie back down, silently giving him permission to remove her panties, which he was happy to oblige in, deftly moving and discarding them to the floor along with everything else. This was it. No going back now...he was all in. He was going to make her forget about all that happened for a while...and show her just how a lady deserved to be treated.

She nearly leapt from the bed and stuck to the ceiling when his fingers touched her there, and it caused him to pause for a moment. He hadn't stopped to think of what kind of other abuse that goat faced douchebag had dealt her...he saw the nervous, scared look in her eyes and in her trembling lips. He hoped to high heavens that he hadn't done far more serious damage to her than the cache of marks he had left her with...

"Hey", he whispered, moving so that he was on his side, right next to her, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist. "We don't have to do anything. I want you to be comfortable with...whatever this is", he said, using his finger to point between them. A look of relief spread across her face, and she buried it into his chest, the hot, wet tears trickling down. He began to rock her back and forth, gently, trying to put her back at ease. "I won't hurt you...I promise you that. I'll protect you from him. And when you're ready to take that next step...I'll be waiting, patiently."

"I'll never let you out of my sight."

* * *

He waited until they made the next town before sliding into bed next to her. She had been soundly asleep for the last two hours, after everything that had happened, she drifted off not soon after his declaration to watch over her. He smiled and felt his heart swell with adoration as he watched her sleep like a baby. She was grinning as she roamed the dream world, and he liked to think that it was because of him. Pulling her close to his body, his arms wrapped around her waist, he too began to doze off, towards a well deserved night of sleep. Lord knew he hadn't had one of those in a while...

A few hours later, he woke up to an empty bed. Figuring she was just using one of the bathrooms, he yawned and stretched out his limbs. Getting out of the bed and padding down the walkway, he saw that the bathroom closest to him was empty...must be using the other one he reasoned. Except when he got there, it too was empty...panic began to flood through his veins, instantly putting him on high alert. As he began to search every inch of the bus, he threw on a pair of shorts and shoes and barged outside, into the early morning mist, the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon. Nowhere. Nothing.

She was gone. And it was all his fault.

* * *

**And that's that. What happens next? Where's AJ? What is Punk gonna do? Tune in next time to find out...**


	11. a promise kept is a promise broken

**Hey everyone! I'm finally back with a new update to this little story of mine...I want to apologize for taking so long between updates. I've been dealing with a lot of stress between work and my personal life, plus I haven't been in the best shape health-wise the last couple of weeks either. But hopefully I've put my sickness issues behind me and and I'll have more free time here and there to update my stories and perhaps start a new one...thank you all for sticking with this story and everything else I've done and not giving up and losing interest in everything. It really means a lot to me. And with all of that out of the way...on with the story! Hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

_June 24th, 2012_

_Little Rock, Arkansas_

He couldn't believe he had lost her. How could he have been so irresponsible and just so stupid? He felt like shit...he vowed to make her feel safe, and now she was gone. He wanted to kick himself in the face as hard as he could right now, but there was no time for that. He had to be on the lookout, had to search, scan, and cover every inch of ground he possibly could to make sure she was all right. He'd look all damn day if he had to, he just needed to find her, and fast.

Running back into the bus and hastily throwing a shirt on, he grabbed his phone and double checked to make sure everything was in place, from his ring gear to the WWE Title to his comics. Stepping back outside, he locked up the bus and began his search, the sun beating down on him as he began to speed walk through the massive parking lot that was connected to the just as monstrous hotel the talents were shacking up in for the day before Raw the next night. He was going to find her, one way or another.

He promised her...

* * *

She sat down on the edge of the pool, dipping her feet in and looking at her reflection after the ripple effect subsided. She had spent most of the morning wandering aimlessly around the hotel, stopping only to eat a quick breakfast. Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, her mind was racing with various different thoughts on what happened last night. They kissed. Or rather, she kissed him. More like launched herself into him and practically attacked his lips with her own. It didn't matter...she knew things were bound to get awkward between them now. Especially after they damn near did the dirty deed...

Shuddering, she remembered feeling so scared, so frightened when he touched her where he had...she hadn't been touched like that in a while. She just didn't want to feel pain anymore. What had she done to deserve so much of it? Love someone who she should have realized was never going to love her back? That sort of thing happens all the time, she reasoned with herself...but it wasn't every time you found yourself falling for a crazy, goat-faced, mentally unstable psychopath. He was responsible for all of this. All she wanted to do was treat him the way he deserved to be treated...and he flew off the damn handle. A lot. She remembered WrestleMania. She remembered every other instance where he made her feel like the biggest waste of life ever...

She looked up at the sun through her aviator shades and let a sigh escape her lips. She probably should have let him know where she was going, what she was doing. It was likely that he was freaking out right now, and when he eventually found her, he'd probably have strong words for her...but she needed to be alone right now. Had to have these quiet moments to herself right now. Everything that had happened was such a whirlwind that she could almost feel her head spinning as if it was on the swivel from hell. All so much to take in and so little time to do it in...

Hearing giggling sounds coming from behind her, she looked over her shoulder and saw a couple of kids, brother and sister, no younger than six or seven she reasoned, run out onto the deck, their mother following closely behind. They were all smiles, laughing and playing around with each other, as they took their shirts and sandals off and made a beeline for the pool. They jumped in excitedly and splashed all around, their mother cautioning them to be safe but have fun at the same time. They were having a blast...she remembered a time in her life when something as simple as this would bring her endless amounts of joy. But that was many moons ago, when she was but a younger version of herself, bright eyed and ignorant to the problems that would await her when she grew up.

She didn't have to wait long, though, for those problems to quickly smack her across the face. Being evicted from her home. Living in cars, other people's houses, cheap motels. Having to work three, sometimes four jobs to help support her family when her parents weren't able. Being rejected from just about every school she applied to. And that was the easy stuff. She was ill prepared for such hardships, but she liked to think she had weathered most of them. Oh, she couldn't have been more wrong.

Watching the kids play around, dunking each other under the water and splashing it in each other's faces...she wanted to feel that kind of unadulterated happiness again. With working. With her friends, whatever ones she still had. With him. She had long been denied it, and she knew what was keeping herself from finding that inner peace that she utterly craved. She had to find a way around it. Or through it. Whatever. That bastard was the one standing in her way, and he needed to go to sleep. It gave her a headache just thinking about him and the way he seemed hell bent on ruining her life in every aspect. He wanted to break her, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically...she couldn't let him. He came close once. It wouldn't happen again.

She felt water hit her legs and her shirt, and she was snapped from her reverie by the two children wading over to her, looking apologetic for their mishap.

"Sorry!", the young boy said as his sister nodded. "We didn't mean to get water all over you, miss. We didn't even see you!"

"Yeah, we're real sorry!", the sister then piped in, looking upset, like she had committed some grave act of injustice.

Smiling at the siblings, she waved them over and waited until they were close enough for her to whisper. "Don't worry about it, it's just a little water. You two have nothing to apologize for. What are your names?"

"I'm Austin, and this is my sister Caitlin", the young boy eagerly responded, all smiles as he threw his arm around his sister's shoulders, eliciting a giggle from her lips as she did the same. It warmed her heart to see something as touching as this.

"My best friend's name is Kaitlyn, with a k", she responded with a grin as she removed her feet from the pool and sat Indian style on the ground. "I'm April. It's a pleasure to meet you two. Are you from around here?"

She conversed with them, all while feeling his presence over her shoulder, watching silently as she interacted with the children. It was weird to her, to know that he was there...had been there, actually, for the last five minutes, give or take. It was like she had a sixth sense when it came to her newfound protector. She didn't know how to feel about it, but she sure did appreciate it, she knew that much.

She felt him begin to walk over to her, and she took it upon herself to introduce him to the children. They'd probably be star struck once they knew who he was. "Hey, I want to let you in on a little secret. You see the guy walking over toward us?", she asked, turning and pointing to him as he approached, the kids nodding. "He's a really good friend of mine."

Once it sank in when they saw the amount of tattoos on his arms and hands, their little eyes lit up. "You're friends with CM Punk?", the young boy named exclaimed in a semi-hushed tone, not wanting to draw any undue attention to themselves. When she nodded, his eyes grew to the size of golf balls as Punk took a seat next to her, dipping his feet into the water.

"I see you two found my friend here", he began, looking at the children, who were in complete awe of his presence. "Thank you for that. She likes to go running off sometimes without telling me", he said, shooting her a quick glare which she returned with a contrite smile.

The kids didn't say anything, though, still rendered speechless from his sudden appearance. She found it to be the most adorable thing in the world, almost as cute as all those videos she'd look up of cats doing funny thing. The young boy shook his head, his sister doing the same thing, before they spoke up again.

"Oh, it was no problem, Mister Punk!", the young girl said excitedly. "Your friend is really cool!"

"Yeah, no wonder why you like her!", Austin replied, the two of them exchanging looks and smiling, while she blushed at the comment. He shook his head and threw his arm around her slender shoulders, hugging her close to his body.

"Yeah...this one, she's a handful, but she's fun. I guess that's why I keep her around", he said to the kids. Looking to her, he grinned, then motioned for her to cover her ears. Puzzled, she did as he asked and covered her ears as he waved the kids in closer so he could say something to them without her hearing...though why he'd do that was beyond her.

He couldn't help but think about how the children in front of him were hanging on his every word. He was like that when he was their age...such a fanatic, so deeply immersed in the spectacle of wrestling, admiring the larger than life characters he saw on television...it made him forget, if only for a moment, about all the shit he had been dealing with these last few months, and made him realize that good still existed in the world. These kids were living, breathing proof.

Waiting until the kids were as close as they could be, he leaned in and whispered into their ears. "You see my friend here?", he asked, watching them nod their heads. "She's a real good friend of mine. She's been through a lot lately though...and I want to try and make her feel better. I was thinking of asking her out on a date...what do you think? You think that's a good idea?"

The kids began to nod their heads furiously, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud at their energy and eagerness. He felt a tap on his shoulder and saw her remove her hands from her ears as she settled back, resting her head on his shoulder as he smiled. "That's a great idea, Mister Punk!", Caitlin replied loudly. "You should definitely do that!"

"He should definitely do what?", she asked, looking up at him, then to the kids, who looked like they were ready to burst at the seams, they wanted to tell her so badly.

"Mister Punk wants to ask you out on a date!"

She looked at him with wide eyes, keeping her lips sewn tightly shut. She had been put on the spot, and she hated when that happened to her. He was smirking right back at her, and if they weren't in the presence of children, she'd be cursing him out under her breath so badly right now. Then she began to give it some thought...what could be so bad about one little date? After last night, she needed something to immerse herself in and melt away the awkwardness that was slowly building between them after last night.

He was giving her a sideward glance, his heavily lidded, grey green eyes hopeful that she'd placate him and deliver the answer he wanted to hear. The children were looking up at the two of them, anxiousness and excitement written in their eyes and on their faces, and it made her hide her face so she could grin like an idiot. She was either going to be making a good choice or a bad decision here, but she was going to throw caution to the wind here. She wanted to live a little again.

"You know what? I'd like that very much, Mister Punk. It's a date."

The twin siblings began to cheer and it made them both laugh. She found herself leaning into his body again, resting her head against his side as he draped his arm protectively over her shoulders, while he stuck his free hand out and received high fives from the overly exuberant kids.

"It's gonna be the best date you'll ever go on", he whispered into her ear, tickling her senses and making her smile even more than she already was. "Sorry for sounding so cheesy."

She shook her head, looking up into his eyes and wrapping her tiny, fragile arms around him in a sort of bear hug, not wanting to let him go anytime soon. "You don't have to apologize for anything…it's me who has to apologize." She went to continue but he took his free hand and placed his finger delicately over her lips, shushing her.

"And neither do you. We'll talk about everything in depth when we go out, okay? But that can wait."

* * *

A few hours had passed when they finally decided to leave the pool after spending most of that time with the twin siblings they had met. Walking through the parking lot, she went to reach into her pocket to grab her phone, but found that it wasn't there. Sighing, she tugged on his hand, getting him to stop and turn around to face her. "I left my phone back by the pool. Wait up for me on the bus?"

He nodded his head and smiled, boldly placing a chaste little kiss on her cheek. "Go on, I'll be waiting with the engine running. Don't take too long though, I might have to leave you behind."

She grinned and returned the favor with a peck of her own on his cheek before spinning on her heel and jogging back to the hotel. It took her a few minutes but…she soon found herself wishing she hadn't forgotten her phone in the first place.

Finding it where she had left it, right on the table set up in-between the chairs they were sitting in earlier, she grabbed it and was thankful that nobody had stolen it. No sooner than she had grabbed it did she feel a hand on her shoulder. She thought it was Punk, being his usual curious and anxious self, but she was wrong.

Dead wrong.

"They say that if you spend a lot of time searching for something…eventually you're going to find what you're looking for", Daniel's rough voice said into her ear, filling her body with fear and turning her blood to ice. His grip tightened as he slowly led her out of the hotel and to his rental car, making sure none of it looked suspicious in the least. After shoving her into the passenger side, she quickly brought up her contacts and sent a text to the first person she could, before he entered the car and grabbed her phone, throwing it away into the parking lot and driving off.

All she could do now was hope against hope that her savior would come through for her…

* * *

**And that's that. Thank you all again for being so patient with me. Hope you enjoyed. =)**


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